C o u n t e d F r e e

The Magnitude of Speaking with Kindness

2011-05-25T22:11:00.002-04:00

Someone once said that my parents wouldn't raise their voices to one another if the house was burning down.

It's true. I really don't think they would. I have never heard my mother and father fight. Earnestly disagree, yes. But they always managed to do so with words, tones of voice, and body language that still conveyed kindness.

Growing up, I didn't understand how drastically different my home was from others in this respect. I noticed that other moms snapped at their children in frustration awfully frequently. But I didn't realize that those moms were the norm and mine was the exception.

Sometime in my teens, I started to hear the difference in the way my dad spoke to my mom, compared to other men's tones with their wives.

Have you ever noticed how, when you overhear someone else answer the phone, you can usually tell who's on the other end just by the way the answerer speaks to them? Most of us have a very polite initial answering voice, which then changes slightly depending on who we discover we're speaking to. If it's a business acquaintance, the conversation generally continues in a soft, kind, "how can I help you?" tone of voice. If it's a friend we've been waiting to hear from, we progress into a louder, bubbly timbre for chit-chat. Unfortunately, if it's one of the people closest to us- our family- we often convert to a short, dull style of speaking that implies, "Get this over quickly and stop bothering me." (If you haven't noticed this phenomenon, eavesdrop a little the next time you're in the mall or at the office, and let me know what you find.)

When my dad gets a phone call from my mom, it doesn't matter what he's in the middle of. He might be in a desperate rush to get somewhere. He might be deep into an important theological conversation. He might be in a real predicament. No matter what's happening when his phone rings, you can always tell it's my mom on the other end of the line, just by listening to his tone of voice. He speaks to her more kindly than to anyone else. My dad's a loving, patient man. He always has a kind voice. But when it's my mom he's talking to, there is an extra measure of concern and sweetness in his words.

Not only do my parents set the example by speaking to one another lovingly, they also made sure that their children learned to do the same. My dad has never allowed us to get away with an inconsiderate word towards my mom. Likewise, she doesn't tolerate speech that disrespects him.

Isn't that how it should be? Those we claim to love the most should have that claim affirmed to them constantly, not only in phraseology, but also in tone of voice and even body language.

Yet I'm just now realizing that this is a rare thing I grew up with, assuming it was normal— this habit of speaking with utmost kindness within one's household.

Having parents who implied love with every word was an enormous source of security for me both then and now.

Most obviously, I was reminded that my parents loved and valued me every time they spoke to me. Even when I was being disciplined and their words were not pleasant to me, my parents spoke those words in a calm, gentle way that conveyed they were acting with my good in mind. Rarely did they use a tone of anger or frustration with my disobedience. (When hasty words were spoken in frustration, my mom or dad would soon apologize.)

Another benefit was that I knew my parents treasured one another. As a child, when friends' parents are divorcing and you are beginning to realize that everything in the world changes, affectionate words and a constant stream of mere kindness between mom and dad are like an anchor. I never once doubted my parents would stay together forever. Even if I'd been looking for it, I would have found nothing in their actions or speech that gave me room to question their love for each other.

I hope that my words and the tone with which they are spoken never allow my husband a single moment to doubt my love for him. I pray that someday our children are constantly reminded of our love for them and for each other by the kindness in our speech. (Incidentally, my husband is fabulous at this. I thank him almost every day for the loving way he speaks to me.)

When I'm in homes where kind words are not the norm, I feel awkward. I may only be visiting there for a short while, but I don't know how to respond in the midst of a family that criticizes, complains, mumbles, and snaps at one another. I leave wondering if they like each other at all.

So I want my home- my husband's and my place of retreat- to be different. I want it to be the uncommon sort of home like the one in which I grew up. I want to choose to speak to my husband with kindness, with love, with respect, no matter what.

No matter what. Back to the burning house idea— there is never an occasion to speak unkindly. Even under stress. Even in disaster. Even when the matter is urgent. None of those situations negate love, and none of them negate the importance of showing that love by speaking with kindness.

Obstacle #1 to Making Home a Retreat

2011-05-12T17:00:00.001-04:00

A month ago I was so focused.

I was excited about finding ways to make our home a pleasant place.
I was excited about journaling that journey.
I thought the most important thing in my world at the time was creating this ideal environment for us to live in.Then my priorities were challenged in a big way.

READ MORE

Striking Repose

2011-04-13T22:59:00.000-04:00

An old Chinese proverb states, "A hundred men may make an encampment, but it takes a woman to make a home."

That's debatable, really. But the general concept about home is true.

A home is something special. What's the difference between a home and an encampment?

READ MORE

"Once Upon A Time..." (Part 3)

2011-03-07T21:40:00.011-05:00

I went home from that first date and reported to my parents, "I just had the time of my life, but I'm sure I bored him to death. I'll never hear from him again."

Steven drove home that night thinking, "I'm going to marry her."

Maybe that's why I did hear from him again. The very next day.

From then on, we spent a lot of time together, Steven and I. With groups, with our families, and with just the two of us.

I so appreciate this article from Young Ladies' Christian Fellowship. Looking back at our courtship, I can identify closely with the statement that "real life isn't always like the courtship books" that are so popular among our circles. And although those books are helpful, I'm glad that pure, God-honoring romances don't have to be dictated by someone else's journey. When God began to write our love story, He wrote it better than I had imagined it- far better than my legalistic expectations would have allowed me to appreciate if I had demanded to experience a formulaic courtship just like the ones in the books.

I had never met anyone like Steven. Everything about him "clicked" with everything about me. We had been finishing each other's sentences almost from the moment we met, yet I still never tired of hearing what he had on his mind. Not all providentially orchestrated marriages must begin with two people who are remarkably compatible and who "hit it off" from the start. But ours did. Someplace in my heart that had always been cynical and cold before, there began to grow trust and warmth toward Steven.

On February 2, 2010, I jotted this in my journal:
"Never knew anyone like you.
God's grace is all that I can credit this to.
I can't find words, so a grateful will have to do.
Never knew anyone like you."

I continued observing this young man who was so unlike any other I knew. A few observations, also scribbled into journal entries throughout the following months:

"I love watching him in action, interacting with others. He is selfless, Christ-centered, and compassionate. He is a man of integrity. "

"He is gentle, expressive, and sincere."

"He is the best man in the whole world. I am sure of it."

One of the most outstanding characteristics I saw in Steven from the beginning was his quiet leadership. Guiding me carefully through a packed crowd of people, taking the initiative in discussing difficult issues, changing my tire in the hot July sun when I had a flat- these are merely a sampling of the ways in which he served and lead me while we were dating. When something must be done, when a decision must be made, when someone must take the lead, he simply does. It's not a big production. It's not bossiness. It's just Steven's character. I love that about him.

When did I know, really know for sure that I loved him?

I don't know when I first started pondering the idea, but I was cautious. I tried very hard not to entertain the notion until I had solid proof of "his intentions," as they used to say. We young ladies tend to get our hearts broken a little too easily, and usually by our own fault. So, by God's grace, I was guarded and intentional about only thinking of us as friends until the moment he told me otherwise. It was not easy.

As we sat in his truck one Sunday evening in the parking lot of the church, Steven opened his Bible and started sharing things he'd been reading in 1 Corinthians 13. He had this whole list of notes on it and what he was learning. He went on about how love is action, not just emotion, and how love isn't really possible apart from God. He talked about how he wanted to spend his lifetime pursuing only one woman.

I hope it's okay for me to write that next, he became markedly nervous. :)
He said, "Well, I didn't know if I should tell you this, but I've been reading 1 Corinthians 13 alot lately because I've been praying for God to help me love you well. I want to love you like Christ loves the church, and I know that I need God's grace to teach me how to do that. That being said, I hope it's not too soon to tell you this, because I don't really know what 'normal' is in relationships. But I want you to know that I love you."

At that point I'm pretty sure I cried.

I told him that I already knew he loved me because of the way he treated me.

And I told him that I loved him too.

"Once Upon a Time..." (Part 2)

2011-02-01T13:57:00.003-05:00

Little did I know that almost everyone we were acquainted with had been encouraging that fellow to spend some time with me. Friends, family, church leaders.

Conspiracy? Probably.

But after-practice chats about music and books led to rich discussions about Christ, prayer, discipleship, suffering, and worship. One day, out of the blue, he called me up and asked me if I'd like to go to a Christmas parade with him and some friends. Call me old-fashioned; before I gave him an answer, I called my dad for permission. My dad said yes.

That's how December 14, 2009 became known as our first date. Steven picked me up at my grandparents' after work. We met our two dear friends on the side of the street and began waiting for the parade, somewhat nervously, not saying much. We both chuckle to recall that Steven passed my first vital examination when a Coca-Cola truck drove past, adorned with flashing Christmas lights and blaring carols.

"Pepsi or Coke?" I asked.

He responded quite decidedly, "Coke."

I said, "Good."

After the parade, the four of us went to Dairy Queen. We talked as we sat outdoors at an umbrella table and gobbled our ice cream. (You can do that at Christmastime in the South.) As soon as the ice cream had become just a sweet memory, our friends left.

Conspiracy? Definitely.

Steven and I sat at that table and talked for hours. We were discovering that our theology was identical, our passions parallel, our gifts complementary. "I could not have this conversation with anyone else I know," I remarked before the evening was over.

There would be many more conversations like that with Steven.

There still are. :)

"Once Upon a Time..." (Part 1)

2010-10-14T14:46:00.008-04:00

Where does one begin to write a love story? At the first realization that he was "the one?" The first time the two met, or maybe the first time we ever heard of each other? Perhaps that first timid childhood thought that it might be nice to fall in love someday?

When my fiancé proposed, he presented me with a charming storybook he'd written chronicling our love story. He began with the days we were each born.

The truth is, this love story kind of sneaked up on me.

Every day since I was twelve years old, I have prayed that God would send me a man who was passionate about Him. Of course I prayed for other traits - intelligence, maturity, integrity - but I knew those would fall into place if this man possessed an all-encompassing passion to know Christ and to glorify God. I also knew I was asking for a rare find.

I wasn't really "looking" for all those years. I couldn't stand the thought of flirting, didn't look forward to dating, and barely gave a thought to what I'd want my wedding day to be like. I just prayed that someday I'd be able to marry that impossible dream I'd asked God for. High school came and went. The Christian College years passed. A couple of years as a nanny and English tutor were behind me. Even well-meaning attempts at "set-ups" by sweet family and friends didn't bring him along.

There was one night in 2008 when my cousin invited me to a Christmas party with some of his friends from church. I had a blast. I barely remember a smiling, soft-spoken young man in a striped hoodie mentioning to me that we'd taken piano lessons from the same instructor when we were children.

I didn't know I'd been invited to the party just so that I could meet him.

A few days later, he "friended" me on Facebook. I saw his status updates and sometimes casually perused his listed interests, at which my mom and sister remarked "Wow... he's like a male you."

At 22 years old, I'd still never been on a date. That sounds romantic and noble within some circles and it sounds backwards and sheltered within others. It wasn't any of those things. It was freeing and even fun at times. But it was also lonely and difficult.

In February 2009, I had the privilege of meeting Mrs. Charo Washer, who encouraged me and my friend to cherish each season of life. She told us to embrace every opportunity for service that we were afforded while we were single. She explained that someday if we were married, we would have new doors opened for serving the Lord but would also find others closed. I remember how she admonished us not to fret about or long for the future or the past, but to savor each day just as God presented it to us. I remember thinking, "That isn't going to be easy, but it definitely sounds better than always wishing, always pining to be married."

Six months later I was invited to participate in a Christmas musical at the church much of my extended family attends. I showed up for practice the first night and there he was at the piano- that quiet guy who read all the books I loved and was interested in all the same things I was. I couldn't help stealing glances toward the piano as he played. He looked as if he were having such a marvelous time at the keys. After a few practices, I went home and told my little sister that I wished I could get to know him. What are little sisters for? She quickly assured me, "He's too cool for you." Of course he was. But I just wanted to talk to him, to see if he was really as fascinating as I thought he'd be.

One night after practice, we did talk. We talked about books. We talked about music. I think we even talked about the fact that we both preferred real Christmas trees over artificial ones. Something clicked. I couldn't sleep that night. Sorry, you hopeless romantics; it wasn't because I was dreaming of him. Earlier that day I'd been given a CD of Christmas music he'd recorded. I listened to the whole thing several times as I lay in bed. I was a fan immediately.

At some point after practice another evening, he sat at the piano playing his own arrangements of my absolute favorite songs. I stood across the room trying to converse with some other ladies there, but I didn't hear a word they said! Before I knew it, my eyes had turned to where my ears were tuned and the musician had looked up at me as well. For a brief moment- just like in the movies- we gazed. Then we both became aware of it and looked away.

But not before I saw him smile.

My curiosity was intensely piqued about this John Piper-reading, Owl City-listening, one-man-band fellow with the sweet grin.

He Has Been Good

2010-09-28T07:21:00.003-04:00

I have not blogged in a year and a half. So much has happened in that time!
Without hesitation, the past 18 months can be summarized in a single sentence:

God has been good.

In the past 18 months He has provided me with a second part-time job.

He has used that job to provide for the finishing of my CollegePlus! program and to bring me now only weeks away from finishing a Bachelor’s degree in English.

He has introduced me to new friends and opened doors for amazing new experiences.

And He has given me a beautiful relationship with the creative, loving, godly man who is now my fiancé.

Just last year I lamented the approaching Valentine’s Day because I had nearly lost hope that God’s plan for me might include marriage. I never ever would have dreamed that one year later, February 14 would bring roses from a man whose heart is more beautiful than the flowers.

More updates will surely follow. For now be encouraged, as I am, that “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26) and that “every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). He is good.

Repentance and the Real Action from the True Church Conference

2009-03-09T21:32:00.000-04:00

Previously, I posted an overview of wonderful experiences from the True Church Conference. While those events were fabulous highlights of the weekend, they don't comprise the true action of the conference. No, the real story from the True Church Conference is an unseen one, more difficult to express but eternal.

Of course, with the title "Wonderful Grace of Repentance" and an agenda of 11 repentance-themed sermons, one would've expected this conference to teach much about repentance. I was looking forward to as much preaching on the topic as I could get, for I knew that the repentance in my own life was lacking.

In the first session, Mr. Mbewe laid the necessary foundation for understanding this "change of mind" by expounding the Radical Depravity of Man from Romans 3. A doctrine that has been much neglected, depravity is well-summarized by Romans 3:10-12: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
Repentance must be a work of God alone, for man does not naturally seek God and will not / cannot change his mind to agree with God (Romans 8:7-8). I began to pray that God would use my time at the conference to work a fuller repentance in my life.

In session two, Mr. Noblit taught that the root of repentance is sorrow for sin, mourning over the offense commited against the Holy God (Psalm 51:17). This is precisely what I was convicted of lacking. At and since my conversion there had definitely been repentance, but a not daily-increasing sorrow for sin of the intensity that I saw in the lives of believers in the Bible and around me. This troubled me deeply. Mr. Noblit said, "If you cannot go to God with repentance, you must go to God for repentance." So I continued to ask the Lord to deepen my sorrow for sin.

As time progressed, several of the preachers emphasized that repentance does not end at the moment of salvation, nor is it completely mature at that time. Mr. Washer exhorted that repentance is not always greatly manifest at conversion, but will be deepened in the believer's life throughout the process of sanctification. Mr. Sims described "taking sides with God against yourself." Dr. Baucham preached from Psalm 51 on brokenness over sin.
I prayed, "Lord, show me how you see my sin, that I may be broken over it."

Upon returning from the church to our host home each evening, I had been reading over and over Romans 3, Psalm 51, and Isaiah 6 and 53. God never fails to use His Word!
In Romans 3, He showed me what I am without Him.
In Psalm 51, He taught me what my attitude must be about it.
In Isaiah 6, He reminded me of His holiness.
And in chapter 53, He demonstrated how He sees my sin against that holiness. When God saw my sin upon His perfect, beloved Son, "He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed... the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all... He was oppressed, and he was afflicted... they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth... Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him."

In addition to His Word, preaching, and prayer, the Lord used the doctrinal lyrics of many of the songs we sang at the conference. Lyrics such as:

My lips with shame my sins confess
Against Thy law, against Thy grace:
Lord, should Thy judgment grow severe,
I am condemned, but Thou art clear.
Should sudden vengeance seize my breath,
I must pronounce Thee just in death;
And if my soul were sent to hell,
Thy righteous law approves it well.
-- Isaac Watts

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought, ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.
-- Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

I will glory in my Redeemer
Whose precious blood has ransomed me;
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails
And hung Him on that judgment tree.
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death,
My only Savior before the holy Judge,
The Lamb Who is my Righteousness.
-- Vikki and Steve Cook

Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
-- Charitie L. Bancroft

I asked God to show me my sin as He sees it.
He showed me the cross.

Giveaways Worth Entering

2009-03-06T22:08:00.006-05:00

Usually freebies are forgettable. Not these. :)

Jasmine Baucham over at Joyfully Home is giving away a copy of her father's newest book What He Must Be... If He Wants to Marry My Daughter. Check out her website or click the button on my sidebar for more information! This giveaway ends March 13.

From A Boomer in the Pew comes a drawing for a free Calfskin ESV Study Bible. If, like myself, you're intensely curious to get your hands on an ESV Study Bible, why not check out this giveaway? The drawing will be held on March 16.

Indescribable Redemption

2009-02-26T15:52:00.001-05:00

One of my newest favorite songs is "Indescribable." Yesterday I was singing it while driving (which means, of course, that it was being sung quite loudly), when a third verse came to me. Because to me God's most "indescribably" amazing act is His work of redemption, the new verse seemed appropriate. Original lyrics in italics are by Chris Tomlin.

Verse 1:
From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea,
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Chorus:
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Verse 2:
Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

New Verse:
Who, in justice, demands that the sinner must die,
Yet ordained a way to be just and justify?
Who, in wrath, crushed His own Holy Son in my stead,
Yet with Him resurrected my soul from the dead?
Now I know You

Highlights from True Church Conference 2009

2009-02-23T23:18:00.003-05:00

I'm thankful that through TCC '09, the Lord allowed me to:

sit under excellent Bible preaching for four days
stay in the home of the very gracious Beshore family
discover new God-centered, doctrine-packed music (hear my new favorite song here)
speak with itinerant expository preacher Mr. David Miller
pray with and be greatly encouraged by Mrs. Charo Washer
gain some practical wisdom for choosing music in a Q&A session with Mr. Thomas Clay and Dr. Voddie Baucham
meet Mr. Julius Mickel from Constrained by Grace
enjoy instant fellowship with many other believers, united by Truth
bring home tons of solid Biblical resources which were made available for free from HeartCry and Anchored in Truth
obtain from the conference store books by Iain Murray, Richard Owen Roberts, John Piper, Jonathan Sims, and Paul Washer

More coming soon! Until then, check out this post about the conference by Mr. Conrad Mbewe, one of its preachers and a pastor from Zambia.

My Lord, I Did Not Choose You

2009-02-09T09:23:00.004-05:00

Yesterday while leafing through our church hymnal, I was thrilled to discover these words. They solidly express what God has been showing me in His Word of late, magnifying the indescribable greatness of God in salvation.

My Lord, I did not choose You, ^a
For that could never be; ^b
My heart would still refuse You,
Had You not chosen me. ^c
You took the sin that stained me,
You cleansed me, made me new; ^d
Of old You have ordained me,
That I should live in You. ^e

Unless Your grace had called me ^f
And taught my opening mind,
The world would have enthralled me,
To heavenly glories blind. ^g
My heart knows none above You;
For Your rich grace I thirst;
I know that if I love You,
You must have loved me first. ^h

- Josiah Conder, 1836
_____________________________

Also excellent on the theme that I did not choose, but was chosen...

Regeneration vs. Decisional Evangelism

The Dangers, Results, and History of Decisional Regeneration

_____________________________

a. John 15:16 "You did not choose me, but I chose you..."

b. Romans 3:10-11 "There is none righteous, not even one: There is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God."

c. Romans 5:10 "While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son..."

d. 2 Corinthian 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

e. Romans 8:29 "For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..."

f. 2 Timothy 1:9 "Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began"

g. 1 Corinthians 2:14 "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned"

h. 1 John 4:9 "We love, because He first loved us."

Why the Titanic Really Sank

2009-02-03T15:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get so stuck searching for the "deep" things of scripture that I overlook the wonder of simple truths like "Jesus loves me." I try to delve into theological concepts with impressive labels, skipping over the simplicity of "God is great." And sometimes I bring these tendencies into conversations, attempting to discuss spiritual complexities without first establishing and appreciating the basics.

I was reminded of this today by a precious four year old. He proudly pointed out a photo from his visit to an exhibit on the sinking of the Titanic.

"Isn't that amazing," I lectured, "They thought they had built a ship that God couldn't sink, but they were wrong. It only took a little bit of floating ice."

"No," he corrected, "It was a bird. A bird flew into the boat and the boat sank."

I was puzzled. "What makes you think that, buddy? The ship sank after it hit ice floating in the ocean."

He was very serious and very matter-of-fact when he declared, "The lady at the museum said that the boat sank because it ran into an icebird!"

Spurgeon's "By Grace Through Faith"

2009-01-23T15:34:00.003-05:00

I think it well to turn a little to one side that I may ask my reader to observe adoringly the fountain-head of our salvation, which is the grace of God. "By grace are ye saved." Because God is gracious, therefore sinful men are forgiven, converted, purified, and saved. It is not because of anything in them, or that ever can be in them, that they are saved; but because of the boundless love, goodness, pity, compassion, mercy, and grace of God. Tarry a moment, then, at the well-head. Behold the pure river of water of life, as it proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb!

"What an abyss is the grace of God! Who can measure its breadth? Who can fathom its depth? Like all the rest of the divine attributes, it is infinite. God is full of love, for "God is love." God is full of goodness; the very name "God" is short for "good." Unbounded goodness and love enter into the very essence of the Godhead. It is because "his mercy endureth for ever" that men are not destroyed; because "his compassions fail not" that sinners are brought to Him and forgiven.

"Remember this; or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation as to forget the grace which is the fountain and source even of faith itself. Faith is the work of God's grace in us. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the Holy Ghost. "No man cometh unto me," saith Jesus, "except the Father which hath sent me draw him." So that faith, which is coming to Christ, is the result of divine drawing. Grace is the first and last moving cause of salvation; and faith, essential as it is, is only an important part of the machinery which grace employs. We are saved "through faith," but salvation is "by grace." Sound forth those words as with the archangel's trumpet: "By grace are ye saved." What glad tidings for the undeserving!

"Faith occupies the position of a channel or conduit pipe. Grace is the fountain and the stream; faith is the aqueduct along which the flood of mercy flows down to refresh the thirsty sons of men. It is a great pity when the aqueduct is broken. It is a sad sight to see around Rome the many noble aqueducts which no longer convey water into the city, because the arches are broken and the marvelous structures are in ruins. The aqueduct must be kept entire to convey the current; and, even so, faith must be true and sound, leading right up to God and coming right down to ourselves, that it may become a serviceable channel of mercy to our souls.

"Still, I again remind you that faith is only the channel or aqueduct, and not the fountainhead, and we must not look so much to it as to exalt it above the divine source of all blessing which lies in the grace of God. Never make a Christ out of your faith, nor think of as if it were the independent source of your salvation. Our life is found in "looking unto Jesus," not in looking to our own faith. By faith all things become possible to us; yet the power is not in the faith, but in the God upon whom faith relies. Grace is the powerful engine, and faith is the chain by which the carriage of the soul is attached to the great motive power. The righteousness of faith is not the moral excellence of faith, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ which faith grasps and appropriates. The peace within the soul is not derived from the contemplation of our own faith; but it comes to us from Him who is our peace, the hem of whose garment faith touches, and virtue comes out of Him into the soul.

See then, dear friend, that the weakness of your faith will not destroy you. A trembling hand may receive a golden gift. The Lord's salvation can come to us though we have only faith as a grain of mustard seed. The power lies in the grace of God, and not in our faith. Great messages can be sent along slender wires, and the peace-giving witness of the Holy Spirit can reach the heart by means of a thread-like faith which seems almost unable to sustain its own weight. Think more of Him to whom you look than of the look itself. You must look away even from your own looking, and see nothing but Jesus, and the grace of God revealed in Him."

- Charles Spurgeon, from his book All of Grace

My Inaugural Thoughts

2009-01-21T23:50:00.000-05:00

In the past few days, I've heard swarms of negative remarks about the inauguration. Christians have spouted everything from hostile jokes and puns to declarations of refusing to acknowledge Obama as President. I've contributed disparaging remarks of my own. However, yesterday as I prayed for Barack Obama, the new chief executive of my nation, God gave me a different perspective and an incredible peace about this Inauguration Day.

I'm not looking forward to President Obama's brand of "change." I do not support his unbiblical stances on most issues. He is certainly not the man I voted for in November (neither is John McCain, for that matter).

But the election is over. It ended two months ago. People so blessed as to live in the United States of America voted. When all was said and done, we discovered that the Sovereign Lord had providentially ordained for the next President of the United States to be Barack Obama. Period.

He's been sworn in. Now we know that Barack Obama is our God-ordained civil authority. Romans 13:1 says "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."

The word "subjection" in Romans 13:1 means "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating" (Strong's 5293). While we are never to condone the sin of our national leaders, we tread into dangerous waters when we refuse to have an honoring attitude toward the authority God has placed over us. When our thoughts and words about the President turn from discernment to dishonor, we sin. Indeed, we reject the ordinance of God when we do not honor and pray for President Barack Obama.

Romans 13:2
"Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves."

2 Peter 2:13-17
"Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

1 Timothy 2:1-4
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Good Reading: A New Blog

2009-01-14T23:34:00.004-05:00

On my shelf sits a tattered spiral-bound composition book full of scribbled scripture references, notes, and quotes. I refer to that notebook every now and then when I need to be reminded of past lessons learned or wise words that God used to change me.

Some of the simplest, best advice I've ever received is jotted in that book:

"It is time to read our Bibles. We need to read that rascal aggressively and systematically all the way through at least three times a year."

The author of this quote is a former Bible teacher of mine from college, one of those "heroes" I wrote about a year and a half ago. In his class, I learned amazing things about the second half of the Old Testament. I gained vivid mental images of judges and prophets. I discovered why "Bubba and Earl" needed the cities of refuge. I read genealogies with a newly necessitated eye for detail. But the most significant treasure that followed me out of class on the last day of that semester was a heightened respect and a growing hunger for the Bible.

A profound appreciation for the Scripture is vital to the new blog that I'm thrilled to share with you, authored by that same teacher.

For good reading, faithful to God and His Word, check out
A Plumbline in the Midst:
Thought provoking glances into the Bible and Christianity.

True Church Conference 2009

2009-01-12T22:15:00.002-05:00

I'm incredibly excited about attending True Church Conference next month! Previously I wrote a post in which I listed my favorite preachers. All three of them, in addition to others, will be preaching for four days on "The Wonderful Grace of Repentance." Preaching at the conference are Paul Washer, Voddie Baucham, Conrad Mbewe, David Miller, Jonathan Sims, and Jeff Noblit. I look forward to hearing God's Word preached in person by these men who strive to be so faithful to it.

SESSION 1: The Radical Depravity of Man
SESSION 2: Grace Wrought Repentance
SESSION 3: The Repenting Believer
SESSION 4: Preaching Repentance
SESSION 5: National Repentance
SESSION 6: Brokenness
SESSION 7: My Journey in Grace So Far
SESSION 8: Counseling Seekers for Repentance
SESSION 9: Taking the Message to the World
SESSION 10: The Doctrine of Regeneration
SESSION 11: Repentance & the Glory of God

More information

The Word

2009-01-03T23:37:00.000-05:00

Ours is a postmodern world of try-on truth and fad spirituality, even church leaders consumed with meeting felt needs and desperate for something new to stir the crowd. For the past few days, I've had this song by Sara Groves stuck in my head. Her catchy, original lyrics are an excellent reminder of where the answer to our real need lies- in the absolute, unchanged truth of God's eternal Word.

I've done every devotional,
Been every place emotional,
Trying to hear a new word from God,
And I think it's very odd
That while I attempt to help myself,
My Bible sits upon my shelf
With every promise
I could ever need.

And the Word was,
And the Word is,
And the Word will be.
The old Word is the new Word is
The old Word is the new Word is...

People are getting fit for truth
Like they're buying a new tailored suit:
Does it fit across the shoulders?
Does it fade when it gets older?
We throw ideas that aren't in style
In the Salvation Army pile
And search for something more to meet our needs.

I think it's time I rediscover
All the ground that I have covered,
like "Seek ye first"- what a verse!
"We are pressed but not crushed,
Perplexed but don't despair;
We are persecuted but not abandoned."
"We are no longer slaves; we are daughters and sons!"
And "When we are weak, we are very strong."

And "Neither death nor life
nor present nor future
nor depth nor height
can keep us from the love of Christ."

And the Word I need is the Word that was,
Who put on flesh to dwell with us
"In the beginning...."

- The Word by Sara Groves

Valentine's Day for Cynical Unattached People

2009-01-02T16:02:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day was invented by a person of uncommon cruelty.

That's typically my attitude toward the 14th of February. Yes, I'm usually one of those cynical unattached people who disparage the holiday. I know it's well over a month away, but when I began seeing the pink and red hearts all over the commercialized world, I started having those sardonic thoughts by default. Thoughts of wearing black or blue or anything other than red on the 14th of next month. Thoughts of responding "Happy what day?" when greeted by those perpetually cheerful, annoyingly perky paired people. Thoughts of buying myself candy hearts, teddy bears, and red roses as bonfire material.

You see, Valentine's Day is a very biased holiday. It discriminates against people who don't have people to share it with. People who do have people think the other people are party-poopers, but the other people are really just not included. Because on Valentine's Day, everyone is supposed to be thinking about how much they love somebody special and how much they are loved by that somebody. And if you don't have somebody, why observe the holiday of love?

So there I was, scrubbing a toilet and humming melancholy tunes and mourning how I don't have anybody to think about on Valentine's Day. Then, out of the blue (pun intended), I remembered Jeremiah 31:3:

"The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: 'Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.'"

This verse is directed to Israel, but it is applicable to all the people of God. Dr. John MacArthur says, in reference to this passage, "that is the kind of love that God places upon those who belong to Him eternally."

And eternally is the key. That's what completely changed my mindset about Valentine's Day in a split second. I do have Somebody to think about on Valentine's Day. Not only does He love me with a love much greater than any human could ever give, His love is eternal, everlasting.

This time next year, many of those perpetually cheerful, annoyingly perky paired people won't be cheerful or perky or paired anymore. They'll be cynical unattached people like myself. They will have discovered that they really didn't love that somebody special they were thinking about a year earlier, or maybe that that somebody didn't love them.

But the Somebody I will think about on Valentine's Day loves me with an everlasting love. An eternal love that is not conditional on my appearance, charm, or personality. A love that will last long after Valentine's Day is forgotten.

I don't intend to try to put God into human terms or equate His love with human love. But that's just it: How in the world could I be so self-centered and self-pitying about a lonely Valentine's Day when I am loved by the Lord of the universe, One whose love cannot be described... One whose love cannot be measured... One from whose love I cannot be separated?

Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long;we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So I've decided not to wear black, be sarcastic, or let loose any pyromaniac tendencies on Valentine teddy bears.
Pink and red doily day is still far enough in the future that most of us would rather not think about it quite yet. I mention this now because I'll need to be reminded again before February 14th. And I'm going to need someone to hold me to that decision.

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

How Am I Known?

2008-12-18T15:28:00.001-05:00

I love to read those little biographical quips about the author at the ends of books or magazine articles. Sometimes, what I read about the writer is the only determining factor in whether or not I'm interested in what they have written.

Dee Author lives in the gorgeous Rocky Mountains where she enjoys walking at sunset, reading romances, and cuddling her cat, Mr. Darcy.
Not going to read it.

Sarah Skribbles is a retired grammarian who moved from New York City to Nowhere, Alabama three years ago. She bases her fiction on real-life experiences and a quirky imagination.
Better.

Penn Wrights knows her writing can never come close to Dickens, Austen, or Twain.
I'm interested.

More fascinating than what authors have to say about themselves, however, is what they reveal about their children. Recently I saw an author bio sketch that basically read:

Jill Scrawl is a PhD living in Indiana. Her oldest daughter Jessica is an Alpha-Wonderful Scholar at Brilliant University. Her youngest daughter, Jennifer, is an A honor roll student in her junior year of high school.

This woman (or her publisher, perhaps) introduces her children by their scholastic achievements. People with older children identify them by their profession, such as "My daughter Susan, the nurse" or "You remember, Barb, in real estate."

Perhaps those folk are known primarily by their scholarship and careers because that's just the way our society identifies people. Or maybe academic and professional endeavors really are the most prominent facets of their personality. Either way, reading that snippet left me wondering, "How am I known?"

If my parents had to describe me in a sentence, what would they say?
Rissa is a former 'A' student at Christian College?
Rissa is an online English teacher?
Rissa stays busy babysitting, studying, and teaching?

I hope not! Sure, those are things I've done and things I do, but they are the last things I wish to be known for. I hope that academic success and job opportunities are not the defining pieces of my life.

On the other hand, what would I want to be known for? How would I like to be introduced to the world? What primary impression do I want to leave on people when I walk away? This is an important question, since the answer must determine the most prominent part of my life.

In R.C. Sproul, Jr.'s book When You Rise Up, one of my favorite points concerns what children are recognized for. Mr. Sproul noted that in home education, our goal should be different from the goals of the state schools. High performance on tests and the ability to earn a high salary are inconsequential in eternity. The goal of Christian education should be an eternal one: children with changed hearts who walk with the Lord, bear fruit, and become more like Christ daily. Mr. Sproul points out, however, that homeschoolers usually give special recognition to students for the same reasons that public schools do- good grades, scholarships, and eventually high-paying jobs. We even tend to uphold these achievements as proof that home education "works." But if our goal is different, our proof of success is different as well. I will never forget Mr. Sproul's words: "Would you rather have your child graduate at the top of his class at Harvard, become a Rhodes Scholar, win the Nobel Prize, and serve on the board of the Council for Secular Humanists? Or would you rather have your child be unable to make it through the local high school, become a garbageman, and be a godly husband and father?"

In the same line of thought, would I rather be known as the Nobel Prize winner, or (in the future) as a godly wife and mother? I choose the latter.

For now, I wouldn't mind being known as "the one who loves children" or "the one who's into theology."

But in a bigger sense, where a general description is required, I hope that my biographical quip would read something like "Rissa is a child of God by His grace" or "Rissa loves the Word of God" or "Rissa walks humbly before the Lord."

No, I don't think I'm portraying any of those very well at this point. I do spend too much of my talking, thinking, and acting on those academic and activity sort of pursuits, projecting a different focus. But God is working to conform me to the image of His Son Jesus Christ every day. I pray that, ultimately, that is how I'm known.

Hark! The Redeemed People Sing!

2008-12-12T14:25:00.000-05:00

I'm aware there's debate about whether or not the angels actually sang when they appeared to the shepherds that night in the fields. In all five Bible translations I've checked, Luke 2:13-14 reads something like this: "Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!" When I looked up "saying," neither Mr. Strong (of concordance fame) nor Mr. Vine (of expository dictionary fame) mentioned singing.

Maybe the angels sang. Maybe they spoke. Either way, they proclaimed the glory of God.
Those angels are the messengers of Jehovah. They serve Him before His very throne, doing His bidding the moment he commands it. Surely, having seen the glory of God firsthand, their proclamation was delivered with joyful exuberance.

How much more has the awesome character of God been experienced by lowly man.

Rather than rising at His voice, we resist it. Instead of bowing to His will, we buck against it. We were created for His glory, but we fall utterly short of it.
Yet it was to wretched man, not those mighty angels, that God demonstrated His love in the Incarnation. It wasn't for the angels that Christ emptied Himself of His Divine glory and accepted the limitations of flesh. It wasn't the angels' sin that He bore on the cross. And it wasn't for the angels that God the Father crushed God the Son, forsaking Him in an excruciating act of perfect justice and mercy.

It was for us.

If the angels have any reason to proclaim "Glory to God in the Highest!" surely the redeemed people have more.

Consider the words of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing!" I've often sung this song without thought, except to wonder if the angels really sang. But to dwell on the possibility of angelic music is a waste of contemplation in the presence of such doctrinal lyrics. Though the angels supposedly sing "Glory to the newborn King," all nations are called upon to join their song. Every line is praise to the Lord for his grace toward men.

Hark! The herald angels sing,
"Glory to the newborn King!"
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all ye nations rise;
Join the triumph of the skies.
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"

Christ by highest heaven adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a Virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see.
Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild, He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

"God and sinners reconciled" doesn't refer to the angels; it refers to me!
If the angels heartily declare the glory of God in sending His Son, I certainly want to as well- not in a routine utterance of memorized lyrics, but from a heart bursting with gratitude and praise for my Redeemer.

One of my Best Investments

2008-12-09T14:47:00.001-05:00

I've mentioned it before, but I am so thankful for this gadget.
For the $28.00 cost of this faithful little mp3 player, I have been instructed, encouraged, and convicted through innumerable hours of preaching.

At college, I was privileged to sit under Bible preaching for at least one hour each day, in addition to my Bible courses. When I came home, I definitely missed that.

This is one reason I was thrilled to discover a wealth of free sermons available on the internet. While I don't necessarily have a free hour each day to sit, listen, and take notes, I do have chunks of time occupied by cleaning, getting ready in the morning, walking, etc. These have proven to be the perfect opportunities for a home-made "chapel time," complete with an mp3 player clipped to my pocket and earphones broadcasting the preacher of the day. (As Dr. Voddie Baucham says, "Speakers come from Radio Shack; I come to Preach!")

The fact that there is much material to choose from for chapel time is both a blessing and a challenge. Some of the free material out there is packed with excellent, Biblical, hermeneutically sound doctrine. Much is not. Deciding what to listen to day in and day out must be a matter of discernment.

But there is some great Bible teaching available for free download.

I like not many things more than passing on reliable resources, so I can't help reiterating a few recommendations I may already have made. In no particular order, here are links to my absolute top most commonly used sources for downloading free mp3 sermons.

Mr. Paul Washer on SermonAudio.com
Dr. Voddie Baucham on Reforming My Mind MP3's
Mr. Conrad Mbewe on HeartCryMissionary.com

One thing I appreciate about each of these preachers is their God-centered theology. Growing up, my Christian homeschool curriculum placed more emphasis on man and his decisions, his responsibilities, his consequences. The teaching I was under at college was even more along these lines. Let's just say that Calvinists and those who emphasized Christ's Lordship weren't welcomed; in fact, they were decried from the pulpit. Passages mentioning election, predestination, or grace were ignored or brushed aside. Passages mentioning belief, faith, or confession (but not repentance!) were pulled out of context, isolated from the former terms, and used to beg for decisions at altar-calls.

Don't think that all the teaching I heard at college was heresy; the Bible was preached. I was also driven to search out the scriptures more than ever before. But so much of that kind of instruction puts a heavy weight on the shoulders of man; I was constantly left pondering how much of salvation was man's decision and how much was God's grace. (Incidentally, salvation is all God; Ephesians 2:8 makes it clear that even the faith to believe unto salvation is only possible by God's grace.)

It has been refreshing to learn from preachers who expound the whole counsel of God, disregarding neither God's sovereignty nor the necessity of man's belief.

When I first began listening to so much preaching every day, I feared I might be tempted to actually study the Bible less, allowing myself to be satisfied with a few hours of sermons instead. Gratefully, I've found the opposite to be true. When the Holy Spirit works in me through preaching, I thirst to study God's amazing Word even more.
To know Him more.

That's been the greatest benefit of one of my best investments.

I name all electronics. My mp3 player is affectionately called

Spurgeon.

A Vital Message on Christians and Public School

2008-12-02T18:50:00.003-05:00

In her latest wonderful piece on education, Mrs. Kelly over at Generation Cedar takes a very basic look at the kind of education Christian children are bound to receive if sent to government schools.

"Is the public school system under the worldview--the "religion" of humanism? Some would argue that such a claim is "over the top". But again, THINK! Even if no one has stated it outright (and many have!) BY DEFAULT humanism is taught. There is a void and vacuum that must be filled with something when God is removed, just like darkness is inevitable in the absence of light. Self fills that void, and that, by definition, is the religion of humanism..."

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year... for Cookies!

2008-11-28T18:59:00.003-05:00

The turkey is now a left-over, if not only a memory. The sweet potato soufflé was gone all too soon. One cold slice of pumpkin pie lingers in the refrigerator. It's not quite yet time to begin making Christmas candy, cakes, and pies. What delectables will fill the interim between Thanksgiving's dénouement and the climax to Christmas?

My new favorite...

Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, sliced and chilled
¼ cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup dried cherries

Directions

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 300°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using a food processor, mix the flour, butter, sugar and salt for 20 seconds. Add the cherries and pulse until chopped, 20 seconds more.

2. Turn out the mixture onto a work surface and gather into a smooth, compact ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 7-by-9-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick; cut into 12 rectangles. Prick each cookie 3 times with a fork.

3. Using a metal spatula, place the cookies about 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Bake until light golden-brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely; sprinkle with sugar.

(I found this in my favorite source for new recipes, Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine. Photo is from the website.)

Thankfulness and Faith

2008-11-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

What produces true gratitude in the heart of a Christian?

After studying Luke 17:1-19, I believe it is the very same grace-granted faith which is necessary for salvation.

When traveling along the border of Samaria and Galilee one day, Jesus and his followers encountered ten men who would set the scene for an important illustration of thankfulness. All ten of the leprosy-afflicted men had some level of faith in Christ. While nine of them had a selfish faith, one of them had a saving faith. The faith of this one Samaritan produced an attitude of humble thankfulness.

Each of the ten lepers who hailed Jesus from afar had an amount of faith in Him or His works. This is first seen in their calling out to Christ. Bible scholar Spiros Zodhiates explains that when a person has leprosy, their nerves lose sensitivity, especially in the arms and legs. Because of this, severe injuries to the extremities go unnoticed, boils appear, and highly contagious infections disfigure the skin (see note 1). Because of the nature of the disease, Jewish law demanded that the ten lepers stay outside the village, far from others. Luke doesn’t specify how long these lepers had been living “afar off.”

It is interesting to note this unusual occasion of a Samaritan living among Jews. The Jews would only have been together with the Samaritan because they were all outcasts. Otherwise, Jews always avoided Samaritans at all costs. The ten lepers’ condition would have been miserable, their situation unusual, and their hope of recovery minimal. Considering this, all ten of them must have had some faith in Jesus in order to cry out to Him as they did. Luke 17:13 says that they “lifted up their voices, and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Simply calling to Him demonstrates their faith that He could do something about their circumstances.

The faith of the lepers is seen not only in their crying out to Christ, but also in their obedience to His command. In Luke 17:14, “when He saw them, He said unto them, ‘Go shew yourselves unto the priests.’ And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.” According to Edersheim, they were told to show themselves to the priest because the nearest priest could inspect them and pronounce them clean, to be restored to the community, or unclean, to continue living separated from others. Jesus did not touch the lepers. He did not even command healing verbally. He simply gave them a directive to obey. They had the faith to believe He would heal them, so they started off to show themselves to the priest even before they had actually been healed (2). Dwight Pentecost says that the men were healed when Christ saw their faith. It was in their act of obedience that they demonstrated their faith and were healed (6). The faith of all ten lepers is seen in their calling out to Christ and in their obedience to His instruction.

All ten of the lepers obviously had faith. Who wouldn’t have had faith in Christ’s power after seeing miracle after miracle performed? Though all ten men had faith and were healed, there was a difference in the faith of the nine Jews and the faith of the one Samaritan. The faith of the nine was a selfish faith, but the faith of the Samaritan was a saving faith. The selfishness of the Jews is evidenced in the fact that once they were healed, there is no more mention in the scripture of any response. Perhaps they had very little response at all. Edersheim proposes that as Jews they may have felt that they were entitled to God’s blessings, and did not recognize the mercy of Christ. In seemingly forgetting the One who had healed them and continuing on to the priest to obey the letter of the law, the nine ungrateful lepers violated the spirit of the law. The faith of the nine was, to quote Edersheim, “belief indeed in His power, but without surrender to His rule.” (4) In The Life of Christ Commentary, authors Walvoord and Zuck explain that by continuing on their way as if He had done nothing for them, the nine Jewish lepers, in a sense, rejected Jesus. This rejection of Jesus by the nine after their healing is typical of the Jewish nation’s rejection of Christ as Messiah in spite of His great works among them (5). They would accept the wonders He could do for them, but they would not accept Him as Messiah. The faith that the nine Jews had was a faith in what Christ could do for them, not in who He was; it was a selfish faith.

While the nine Jews had a selfish faith, the one Samaritan had a saving faith. This is seen in his obedience, as with the other nine, but is confirmed in the words that Jesus spoke to him and characterized by the response it brought to his life.

First, the Samaritan obeyed Christ’s command just as the other nine did; however, as a Samaritan, his going to the priest would have been a bit more extraordinary. Zodhiates writes that because of the national prejudice between the Samaritans and the Jews, a Samaritan would not have presented himself to a Jew for a pronouncement of cleansing just as a Jewish priest would not have declared a Samaritan to be clean. (6) Therefore, the Samaritan displayed great faith indeed in starting out to obey Jesus’ command to present himself to the priest.

Second, the Samaritan’s saving faith is confirmed by Christ’s words to him. In Luke 17:19, Christ declared to the Samaritan, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” In the Greek, this is the same statement made to the woman who washed Christ’s feet with her tears in Luke 7:37-50. According to Strong’s Concordance, the word “whole” spoken to the Samaritan is sōzō, the same word as “saved” in Luke 7:50. It means “to save… to be in a right relationship with God.” (7) The woman of Luke 7:50 is referred to from the beginning as “a sinner.” When Jesus announced that her faith had saved her, it was in the context of a discussion on the forgiving of sins. His statement of the same to the grateful Samaritan indicates that the Samaritan’s faith was, as well, a saving faith.

Third, the Samaritan’s faith produced a response distinctly different from that of the other nine. The response of the Samaritan was immediate humility and gratitude; this is the characteristic difference between the Samaritan and the nine Jews. He turned back to humbly express his gratitude to Christ. Luke 17:15-16 says that “one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.” Wiersbe states, “Instead of going to the priest, the Samaritan became a priest, and he built his altar at the feet of Jesus.” The Samaritan’s faith was in who Christ is and not just what He could do, as evidenced by his grateful praise and glorifying God. (8) This was the lesson Christ wanted His disciples to understand. Pentecost says that “Christ wanted the disciples who accompanied Him to realize that they were indebted to the One who had bestowed blessings on them and to respond by giving thanks and adoration as the Samaritan had done.” (9) This response of gratitude was the lesson of the whole encounter. It distinguished the Samaritan’s faith as a saving faith, and it should distinguish our faith in Christ as Savior from the faith of those who simply believe in God.

Just as the Samaritan realized who the Healer was and fell down at His feet in gratitude, followers of Christ today should respond to His grace with humble thankfulness in our hearts. Often, we wrongly respond the way the nine ungrateful lepers did, who somehow felt entitled to the goodness of Jesus. As the nine healthy Jews went their way, sometimes we go our own way without acknowledging Christ when things are going well for us. We must realize that of ourselves, we do not deserve any goodness from the Lord. In Luke’s account, immediately preceding the healing of the ten lepers, we are taught that our faithful service and obedience does not cause God to owe us anything at all. His rewards are only of His mercy, and gratitude is only a reasonable response. One of the first things a newborn Christian wishes to do is to offer thanks and praise to his Savior. We should continue this gratitude from salvation on to every moment of our lives, as He pours His grace on us daily.

There are many who believe in God. They believe He exists, but their faith in His existence has no effect upon their attitudes or actions. Our faith in Christ as Savior, however, does affect our attitudes and actions, just as the Samaritan’s faith affected his. In Romans 1:21, ungratefulness is listed as a characteristic of the heathen. As children of God our mind-set should be just the opposite. The realization of who our Savior is and what He has done in saving us should produce an overwhelming gratitude in our hearts. By looking at the response of the cleansed Samaritan, we are given an example of the gratitude that should abound in our own lives.

Notes

1. Spiros Zodhiates, Exegetical Preaching (Chatanooga, TN: A.M.G. Publishers, 1993), 2: 76.

2. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Grand Rapids, MI: WM. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1945),2: 329.

3. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981),347.

4. Edersheim, 330-331.

5. John Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, The Life of Christ Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989), 248.

6. Zodhiates, 79.

7. James Strong, The Strongest Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001), 2066.

8. Wiersbe, 55.

9. Pentecost, 348.

Emptying Myself of Perfectionism

2008-11-25T23:02:00.000-05:00

Putting up the Christmas tree this weekend brought out an unpleasant idiosyncrasy of mine.
You see, as I was stringing lights and hanging ornaments, everything went well as long as I was in control. When I was operating according to my plan- working my way around our beautifully symmetrical faux tree, evenly spacing each piece of décor, re-arranging bits here and there that needed adjustment- everything was perfect.

Unfortunately, decking out the Christmas tree is a holiday tradition in which family members young and not-so-young want to participate. Throughout the process of decorating our tree, well-intentioned passersby would casually grab ornaments and place them on the branches. Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, the more the merrier, right?

Not for me. Those jolly little helpers torpedoed my perfectly organized plan. Imagine my horror when someone placed two snowflakes near one another at the top of the tree, while leaving a huge gap between the snowflakes around the bottom! Or, even worse, I discovered one too many silver ornaments in the same area, when there was a lack of silver elsewhere! I had counted the number of shiny round ball ornaments and calculated exactly how far apart they needed to be spaced in order to evenly cover the greenery. Lo and behold, at some point in my donning the tree with them, a huge chunk disappeared from the box and reappeared on the tree in a completely wrong spacial relationship! It was a perfectionist's worst nightmare.

Tree-dressing isn't the only time when my perfectionism rears its ugly head. I also have a system for loading the dishwasher, which is totally thrown off-kilter when some unsuspecting diner places a dirty dish in the racks out of order.
I can't sleep unless the fiction books on my shelves are arranged alphabetically by author and all the nonfictions are in their proper categories.
I feel like a failure when something in my day-planner hasn't been accomplished and neatly crossed out by nightfall.
I can't shower until the various product bottles in the bathroom are organized.
Once, in speech class at college, a sloppy stack of papers on the teacher's credenza was annoyingly distracting to me as I sat in my desk trying to listen to classmates' speeches. Finally, my friend in the next desk said, "Just fix it so you can focus!" Immediately when the current speaker was finished, I went to the front of the room, straightened those papers, and sat back down to enjoy the rest of the speeches.
I spend hours or even days proofreading, re-wording, and adjusting blog posts before I hit that "publish post" button. Even so, you have no idea how many times these blog posts are then edited, re-published, and edited again. I'll still be fine-tuning phrases in this piece months from now.

Like most aspects of human personality, my drive for perfection is inconsistent. My family can testify that it doesn't bother me at all to leave the milk jug out on the countertop, stack my piano books all over the floor (albeit, in categorized stacks), or park the car askew.

I used to truly take pride in my perfectionism. I was always the neat roommate in my dorm room, the organized one at work, the one to call on for thorough notes in classes. And I'm sure that sometimes this trait is positive. I think that, at times, it has pushed me to finish every last particular of a task when I was exhausted and would have otherwise just quit for the day. I know that being a hopeless perfectionist has contributed to some areas of success, where I cared little about the project but couldn't rest until every loose end was meticulously tied up.

But this weekend, it was a new, negative light in which I saw this urge to have every detail go just my own way.

As I found myself completely flustered by those spontaneous additions to the tree, frantically trying to conceive a plan for repairing the unbalance before me, I was dismayed. I realized that my selfish demand for perfection had stolen any joy from this endeavor. Not only was I miserable because my plan had been interrupted, but the dear children who wanted so desperately to help were also miserable because of my controlling frenzy. "No, that doesn't belong there!" and "Why would you put two blue bells side by side?!" and "Uggh, just don't touch the tree! Don't even go near it!" hardly convey the "Christmas spirit" or, more importantly, a spirit of Christlike humility.

One of my most often read passages in the Word of God is Philippians 2:3-11, in which I'm told that Jesus "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself" (verses 7-8). Those words "humbled himself" literally mean that Christ completely made Himself empty. One of my favorite Bible commentators, Dr. John MacArthur, explains that this kénōsis refers to Christ's emptying Himself of five specific things: divine glory, independent divine authority, the voluntary exercise of some of His divine attributes, His eternal riches, and His unique, face-to-face relationship with His Father. In taking on human flesh, God the Son did not lose His deity, but He did relinquish the rights that were absolutely His because of His deity (MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Philippians, pp.126-128).

Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He who originated and possesses every right in existence, emptied Himself of His rights. According to Philippians 2:3, I must do the same.

In reality, I have no inherent rights. I am dust. Yes, I am dust given a soul, created in the image of God; but any "right" that I may claim on that account belongs to my Creator.

On the other hand, in practicality, I often behave as if I did have rights. I live as if I had a right to express my personality. I live as if I had a right to demand perfection. I live as if I had a right to see my will be done. My response to the tree-trimming experience demonstrates it.

However, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20)

I may quip the excuse, "Perfectionism is just my personality. I was born this way. I can't help it." But to say such a thing would be to neglect the fact that my personality is also sinful. I was born a sinner. And there was a time when I couldn't help sinning. However, that was before Christ regenerated me, making me a new creature.

I sin when my "right" to express my personality interferes with my obedience to the command "Be ye kind one to another" (Ephesians 4:32). I sin when my "right" to the way I was born overrides my being "clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5). And I sin when I rationalize that I can't control my perfectionism, for "I can do all things who Christ Who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

As Christ emptied Himself of the rights of Godhood, I am called to empty myself of whatever rights I think I have. The right to express my personality. The right to exact perfection. The right to have my way.

And most of the time, this perfectionist tendency of mine is nothing more than a demand that I be in control, an insistence that my will be done.

Oh for grace to empty myself, to live the words of my Savior,
Not my will, but Thine be done.

Am I Allowed to Tag Myself?

2008-11-21T15:20:00.001-05:00

I don't like my responses to my first-ever tag.

I was tagged a while back, and had to rack my brains to produce six facts about myself. Now that I re-read them, I like them less and less. I guess they just seem so focused on... me.

So I decided to tag myself, and give six different facts on this second tag. I prefer these facts much more than the original ones.

1. I was created for God's glory. (Rev. 4:11)
2. I was sinful from conception. (Ps. 51:5)
3. I have missed the mark of God's glory. (Rom. 3:23)
4. I was condemned. (John 3:18)
5. In an amazing demonstration of His love, while I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. (Rom. 5:8)
6. I am now a new creature. (2 Cor. 5:17)

This time I actually had difficulty limiting the number to six. :)

Out of Feminism, Part 4: Into Biblical Womanhood

2008-11-20T01:22:00.000-05:00

(continued from Part 3)

Why do I want to flee feminism? What is this far-reaching philosophy?

The current Merriam-Webster definition is:

1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes
2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests

In The Monstrous Regiment of Women, feminist Gretchen Ritter adds: “The antithesis of a feminist is someone who believes in hierarchy and the inherent authority of some over others.”

According to the Bible, the sexes are clearly on equal soteriological footing.

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:24-29

Yet while regenerated men and women are equally heirs of eternal life, Scripture does present a definite hierarchy.

I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3

God has also given inherent authority to some over others.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 1 Timothy 2:12-13

Based on what I know about feminism, I’d say that the Bible is on the “antithesis” side. If I am to stand on the Word of God, I stand in opposition to feminism as well.

I often use the term “feminism” broadly, referring to any rejection of Biblically defined gender roles. In the way that I generally use the word, this series, “Out of Feminism” could also have been titled “Into Biblical Womanhood.”

After returning home half-way through my junior year of college, I discovered the “smaller” challenges of the pilgrimage out of feminism. Drastic lifestyle changes, like leaving college, are easier than the daily difficulties, in a way. Grand revolutionary actions build to a climax, peak, then end. But day-in, day-out choices continually catch us unsuspecting. Making little decisions each day toward more Biblical womanhood seems alot more pedestrian than taking a big stand against the evils of feminism. Yet the inconsequential moments of life are the true reflection of the heart.

Today, my journey isn’t so much about making conspicuous U-turns, like packing all my dormitory furnishings into a minivan and moving back home. Now it is about saying an encouraging word rather than critiquing men in leadership. It is about being available to my home and family during the day, and studying late at night when the baby is asleep. It is about having the courage to tell inquisitive folks the unpopular reasons for my return home.

I often fail. I’m quite conscious of how much room for improvement there is between myself and Mrs. Proverbs Thirty-one. Slowly but surely, however, I am journeying out of feminism. The grace of God is leading me into Biblical womanhood.

“…so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” Titus 2:5

Out of Feminism, Part 3: Leaving College

2008-11-19T16:10:00.002-05:00

(Continued from Part 2)

In light of my last post's strong statements about college, I would like to make three points as I proceed with my story of emerging from feminism.

First, I want to be clear that I do not believe that being in college makes a girl a feminist. However, I did finally leave college. I cannot deny that this played a part in my continuing journey out of feminism.

Second, I do not imply that it is wrong for every young lady to go to college. However, I do believe that disciples of Christ should re-examine the practice of encouraging girls to go to college after high school by default. What does the Bible say about the education of young women? Titus 2 dictates that young women are to be trained "to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands." Is this best accomplished by sending a girl away from home for four years into an environment devoid of family life and surrounded by other clueless twenty-year-olds, to independently pursue a career-focused degree?

Third, that said, I do not want to give the impression that I disliked my college years. On the contrary, I enjoyed college. I loved academia, my job, my teachers, and especially my dear friends. I went to a college known for its high academic requirements and rigid social regulations, and I even liked those rules. I grew and learned much from my time at a Christian college. Nevertheless, the fact that God has used all things in my life for good (Rom. 8:28) does not negate my responsibility to sometimes make a U-turn. In fact, considering that the "good" God is working in my life is conformity to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29), U-turns are often necessary! Once I began to seriously consider whether the college campus provided the best training in Biblical womanhood, the general happiness of my college experience could not outweigh the growing absence of peace within me. This, along with family circumstances, eventually culminated to convince me that I needed to be at home.

Choosing to leave college was an excruciating decision; but I have not, for a moment, ever regretted it.

Continue to Part 4.

Out of Feminism, Part 2: A Debtor of Grace

2008-11-13T21:48:00.008-05:00

(continued from Part 1)

I am indescribably blessed with parents who epitomize Biblical manhood and womanhood. From my earliest childhood, they have continually taught me, by both their words and their lives, that since creation God has laid out distinctively different roles for man and woman. As a young woman, it was, of course, my mother who most vividly portrayed what I knew God created me to be—submissive, selfless, feminine, meek and quiet in spirit, a helper, a nurturer, thoroughly a woman.

However, it was not until I was fifteen years old that I began to recognize the vast disconnect between my principles and my practices. The aspirations and preparations that I had in mind for the future were not aligned with my ideals of a woman’s God-ordained role. Indeed, through His Word, the Lord began to reveal to me how much of my thinking, even my understanding of Scripture, was tainted by humanism, individualism, and feminism. Slowly but faithfully, God in His mercy opened my eyes to the self-centeredness of my desires. By the time I was eighteen, my heart had been so changed that I wrote my senior “vocation” paper on being a homeschooling mother!

High school graduation brought much anxiety. I had never before considered life beyond the homeschool years, except to passively daydream about some distant time at which I would certainly be mature and wise enough to know exactly what to do with my life.

I could not have been more wrong.

Upon completing my twelfth grade curriculum, I felt utter despair. According to the world’s expectations, I had no ambition, no sense of purpose, no aim. I only wanted to be a daughter in my father’s home or a wife in another’s; nothing else appealed to me. In fact, all other options—college, career, “missions” work— terrified me. My parents did not pressure me for a decision, but the rest of the world did. The “normal” thing was obviously to pursue some sort of degree. With my shred of confirmation resting in a scholarship received, I decided to go to a Christian college, at least to “try it” for a semester or two.

As previously shared, I entered college with every intention to battle the career-woman mindset which I knew to be so prevalent within the college community. I even changed my major to Early Childhood Education in order to “best” prepare for future motherhood. However, as I also stated, after the first compromise, I began to drop my shield against feministic thinking, slowing starting to ponder whether going with the flow was so bad after all.

Subtly, very subtly, my thinking began to warp into something like this: Times have changed. Maybe in the past women could prepare to be keepers at home, but now many women never even get married, and if they do, most women can’t afford to stay home. Who knows if I’ll ever be married or have children? That’s out of my control. Why prepare for something I can’t guarantee will happen? It is within my control to obtain a good career as a teacher. I should work toward something that I can make happen, not toward some wild dream I simply hope for. I’ve just got to grow up and get real about this.

I can’t put into words or emphasize enough the subtlety of this change. It was not overnight. It was not purposeful. It was not acknowledged. But after a year-and-a-half away from home and family in a career-preparatory, individualistic environment, it just happened.

I can see the ideological battle played out on the pages of my journal from this time. At home, just before returning to college from Christmas break my sophomore year, I wrote these words:

“I am overwhelmed by a sense of restlessness. It’s as if I have bottled up energy bubbling inside just begging for a release, for some purpose to explode. And I can find no channel for it. I am so ready to get back to college, where I belong, where I have a sense of purpose, of fulfillment. Here I feel completely caged in.
I’ve never felt this way before. I have always loved being at home with my family, never wanting to go anywhere or do anything but be here at home. But suddenly I just can’t take it anymore. I need to go somewhere, do something, get something done, break out of these four walls all by myself and make my mark somewhere.
I am sick and tired of this mediocrity.”

These words reveal a spirit anything but “meek and quiet” (1 Peter 3:4) They reek of self-centered discontentment. They should have sounded familiar to me as an echo of the home-hating rhetoric of women like Margaret Sanger and Betty Friedan, the very ones I disputed in my freshman research paper. Yet, at the time I wrote this journal entry, I would have fought to the death against any claim that I was a feminist. I wish these frightening words had not come from my pen. I am humbled to think where a heart in this condition might have led me had the Lord not intervened with “the renewing of [my] mind” (Romans 12:2).

By His grace, however, He constantly does just that.

The Holy Spirit began to convict me through His Word, everywhere I turned, of the sinfulness of my selfish independence. My personal Bible study confronted me with scripture on family roles, submission, humility. As I sat in chapel or Bible class or education courses, sometimes verses were twisted to fit the speaker’s more politically correct worldview, but the Bible open before me still read: “teach the younger women to be… keepers at home” (Titus 2:4-5). In classes instructing future teachers, I couldn’t get past the fact that the verses used to support classroom discipline in schools ordered children to obey their parents in the Lord (Ephesians 6:1) and commanded fathers to nurture and admonish their children (6:4). Furthermore, though I had majored in education to prepare for the future task of homeschooling, I began to find that the majority of my classes focused on classroom control. I was spending hours of my time studying and preparing for administration problems that would never occur in a home-discipleship situation. Thirsty for more of the Word of God, I added a second major, Bible.

At the end of my second year of college, only months after journaling the words above, I wrote these very different ones:

"I am convinced that college is not the best path of preparation for a young lady. I'm majoring in education to be prepared to be a home educator. However, all of my education classes (except the one 2-hour class which makes my major Early Childhood) are completely focused on the classroom. Most of our time is spent on classroom control techniques to deal with things that the parents should've taken care of at home. I have to do a practicum in a daycare (they call it "nursery" since it sounds better). That will be about as much against my conscience as working in a bar. My Bible major throws me into competition with all the men majoring in Bible. How feminist is that. I don't know how to go about it, but there has to be something better than this to prepare me for whatever lies ahead. I wish I had spent more years praying about what that is."

Thus the journey out of feminism began.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
- Robert Robinson, 1758

Continue to Part 3.

Out of Feminism, Part 1: Compromise

2008-11-07T22:28:00.004-05:00

I consider myself to be on a journey out of feminism. By the grace of God, I desire to guided by the Holy Spirit toward submissive, godly femininity as defined by the Bible.

But it is a journey; I have not arrived.

How did I come to find myself so far away from the destination? Rebellious and sinful from conception, I was born a feminist into a world immersed in feminism. However, there was a time when I settled into feminism's territory more wholeheartedly than at any other time in my life.

God is good. He used events from this time as road signs, alerting me to how far away from Biblical womanhood I truly was. Looking back, I can see His grace working through these events to finally bring me to repentance.

One of the first of these occurrences came during my first semester of college.

I didn’t want to go to college. I had no desire to leave home, no desire to prepare for a career, no desire to be independent. But, like many other young ladies I’ve since met, I couldn’t think of anything else to do. A recent high school graduate, I packed up and headed off to a Christian college far from home.

I started out with good intentions. I decided that I would campaign for femininity. I would be the campus’ sole thundering voice, ironically, to promote a “meek and quiet spirit.” (Permission granted to laugh at my foolishness.) During the predictable first-day-of-class introductions, I proudly declared that my future aspiration was to be a mother, garnering smirks from fellow students. I lectured my roommates about the virtues of submission and domesticity. I even wrote my argumentative research paper on the dangers on feminism.

Every first year student’s crowning achievement was the successful completion of the Freshman Research Paper. It was a strenuous, all-consuming project which required hours of carefully documented research, many drafts, and endless edits. For my topic I chose “How Feminism Has Harmed the Family.” Each of my main points was an effect that feminism had achieved in the modern family. I used scripture references to show that these changes to the traditional family model were indeed negative. I quoted famous feminists like Betty Friedan to expose the feminist agenda and cited their notable counterparts, such as Phyllis Schlafly, to support my arguments.

Things were going well with my research paper for most of the semester. As I turned in my drafts I received them back with good grades and helpful comments. However, I hit a bump in the road when I turned in the draft which had developed my last point: feminism has harmed the family by removing women from the home.

I had particularly exerted myself on this portion of the paper. I’d been blessed to find plentiful quotes and statistics showing the negative results of wives and mothers migrating from the home into the full-time workforce outside of it. I was sure that this was forte of my masterpiece, conclusively demonstrating the devastation of feminism upon families.

Yet this draft received a lower grade than I had earned before. I searched the composition to determine where I had failed. The only marks were red underlining of almost my entire newly developed section on women leaving the home. They were accompanied by one comment: “Did you really intend to say this?”

My English teacher—a full-time employee of the college— was a married woman with several children.

If I could go back in time and write that paper again, I'd like to think that I would not withdraw a word of it. Unfortunately, when I was in college, grades were my idol. Though I was disappointed, even outraged, at the prospect of editing away my favorite part of the project, I wanted the highest grade possible on that paper. I re-worded the segment in question, softening my statements on the harm of removing women from the home, selectively eradicating statistics, and entirely removing a wealth of succinct, pointed quotations.

My paper’s final grade rewarded my editing and mocked my conscience.

Because the college did not allow students to keep any drafts of the Freshman Research Paper, I don’t have any part of it in my possession. I wish I did. I would love even to have only the bibliography page. Through researching feminism’s tragic manifestations, my eyes were opened to an entire realm of cultural preconceptions which had blinded me in my study of scriptural womanhood.

Though my understanding of the subject had deepened, I had succumbed to the fear of man. I compromised. I was undoubtedly wrong in doing so.

Regretfully, it was not the last time I departed from the truth about Biblical womanhood. In fact, thereafter, compromise came more easily, even unconsciously.

My journey further into feminism was well underway.

Continue to Part 2.

Unchanged by Election Results

2008-11-04T19:14:00.001-05:00

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. Daniel 2:20-22

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He will. Proverbs 21:1

As through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. And the law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. Romans 5:19-20

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 1 Timothy 1:15

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-4

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way,and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:6-11

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29

...At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever! Revelation 5:13

Acknowledging the Mountain: Reformation Day 2008

2008-11-01T15:53:00.006-04:00

Reformation Day quietly came and went.

As I was out and about yesterday, I saw children and grown-ups in gaudy costumes gorging on candy. I walked past aisles of grotesque masks and faux gravestones in the stores. I noticed the costly macabre décor that multitudes of homeowners had scattered across their lawns.

Halloween made a splashy commercial entrance and a sugar-high exit. But Reformation Day slipped past unnoticed by the world-at-large—even by Christians.

It was as if the population celebrated an anthill, ignorant of the mountain in whose shadow they danced.

Because every year I receive quizzical looks after greeting my brothers and sisters in Christ with a hearty “Happy Reformation Day!” I feel the need to define it before moving on.

What is Reformation Day?

It is the anniversary of what many consider the first spark of the Protestant Reformation, "the change of religion from the corruptions of popery to its primitive purity, begun by Luther, A.D. 1517," according to Webster's 1828 Dictionary.

“On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted a proposal at the doors of a church in Wittenberg, Germany to debate the doctrine and practice of indulgences. This proposal is popularly known as the 95 Theses, which he nailed to the Castle Church doors. This was not an act of defiance or provocation as is sometimes thought. Since the Castle Church faced Wittenberg's main thoroughfare, the church door functioned as a public bulletin board and was therefore the logical place for posting important notices. Also, the theses were written in Latin, the language of the church, and not in the vernacular. Nonetheless, the event created a controversy between Luther and those allied with the Pope over a variety of doctrines and practices. When Luther and his supporters were excommunicated in 1520, the Lutheran tradition was born. This in turn would later ease the creation of the Reformed and Anabaptist traditions as well.”- Wikipedia

“Five hundred years ago, sometime near October 31, a baby named John Calvin was conceived who would dedicate his life to eradicating an ungodly fear of superstitious beliefs and proclaiming the gospel of grace. His emphasis on reformation, revival, and the sufficiency of Scripture had such far-reaching implications for nations like the United States that he has been described by Christian and secular scholars alike as the true founding father of America.” - Mr. Doug Phillips

How grateful we should be for men like Luther, Calvin, and Knox—imperfect men who were willing to stand against the tyrannical heresy of their day. Men of rank and men of obscurity who did not fear the cost of faithfulness. Men who stood on sola scriptura without reservation. Men who were used by God to shed the Light of the gospel and usher the world out of those Dark Ages.

On this day, we had a grand opportunity to remember our spiritual “fathers” and to honor them. But most of us barely gave Reformation Day an acknowledging nod.

However, I found a few small ways to recognize this monumental event and those who were so influentially used in spreading the truth of scripture to the masses, down the generations, across the oceans, and, eventually, to me.

The engine that drove the Reformation was the bold preaching of salvation by grace alone. Therefore, yesterday I availed myself of the endless resources of the internet, and filled my mp3 player with some solid gospel preaching. (There’s a reason I named that little machine Spurgeon!)
I began with Mr. Paul Washer’s “Regeneration vs. Decisionism.” I recommend it most highly, even urgently. Be warned: This message expounds the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ; while listening, you may be mightily convicted of sin, of false teaching, by the Holy Spirit. You may be drawn to repentance. I was.
I was also blessed to catch Mr. Washer’s "10 Indictments Against the Modern Church" and Mr. Conrad Mbewe’s "Romans 5:12-21" and "Romans 5:20".

The instruments used by a Sovereign God to build the Reformation were the Reformers themselves. I’ve always loved the story of Martin Luther’s life, but found that most of his biographers didn’t seem to love it—their work was dull and dry. My high school history text’s few pages on the man were more exciting. But at last, I’ve discovered a little book that brings Luther to life, as if the reader were a friend walking beside him. A Place to Stand is that book. It not only narrates Luther’s life in the full scenery of his times, it also explains his beliefs and those he stood firmly against.
In honor of Reformation Day this year, I’m beginning to read John Calvin: Man of the Millennium. I’ll have more to say about it once I get past the title page. :)

Finally, I thought I was well-acquainted with the Reformation until I came across this enjoyable and challenging Reformation Day quiz. There I discovered my lack of knowledge, as well as motivation to study the Reformation more deeply and a starting point from which to do so. Check it out for yourself.

Remember that Reformation Day was not the sum total of the Reformation. God worked powerfully through men after October 31 in 1517, and He will continue to do so after that day in 2008. Yesterday was only the beginning.

Why He Died

2008-10-30T00:50:00.000-04:00

These days, we've forgotten what Christ died for.

Maybe you've heard something like this spoken by a preacher during the "invitation" portion of a church service: "Do you have troubles? Do you have sorrows? Do you have heartaches? Are you tired of living an unfulfilled life? Well, I'm here to tell you that Jesus died for those troubles, those sorrows, those heartaches. Jesus died so that you could have a life of fulfillment."

How often have you listened as a syrupy Christian song proclaimed that Jesus died for love, freedom, or peace? While each of those sentiments is true in a sense, they've been touted to the neglect of the heart of the gospel.
I don't pretend to be guiltless of these fallacies. At times I find myself thinking along these lines, forgetting the true cause of Christ's death, what He really endured the cross to accomplish.

If Christ died to rid our lives of difficulties, it must have been to no avail. Every follower of Christ through history has experienced his share of troubles, sorrows, and heartaches; a sense of uncomfortableness in this world has been natural for those of us whose citizenship lies elsewhere. Likewise, if it were for grand ideals that Christ died, then His death was in vain; love, peace, and freedom have been lacking all over the world since His crucifixion.

Christ died for our sin.

The justice of our holy God demands death as the penalty where there has been sin.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus Christ died to satisfy that justice of God toward wicked, wretched sinners. Namely, me.

1 Timothy 1:15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,and with his stripes we are healed.

Yes, the death of Christ brought us peace and healing. But the necessity of the cross was for our transgressions, our iniquities, our sin.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines "sin" in this way:

The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is either a positive act in which a known divine law is violated, or it is the voluntary neglect to obey a positive divine command, or a rule of duty clearly implied in such command. Sin comprehends not action only, but neglect of known duty, all evil thoughts purposes, words and desires, whatever is contrary to God's commands or law. 1 John 3. Matt. 15. James 4. Sinner neither enjoy the pleasures of nor the peace of piety. Among divines, sin is original or actual. Actual sin, above defined, is the act of a moral agent in violating a known rule of duty. Original sin, as generally understood, is native depravity of heart to the divine will, that corruption of nature of deterioration of the moral character of man, which is supposed to be the effect of Adam's apostasy; and which manifests itself in moral agents by positive act of disobedience to the divine will, or by the voluntary neglect to comply with the express commands of God, which require that we should love God with all the heart and soul and strength and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. This native depravity or alienation of affections from God and his law, is supposed to be what the apostle calls the carnal mind or mindedness, which is enmity against God, and is therefore denominated sin or sinfulness.

Our aversion to the mention of sin must not be allowed to leave our gospel proclamation lacking its very purpose.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

Jesus Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, died as the substitutionary atonement for my sin. We rob the gospel of this powerful, essential truth when we attempt to make it sound more pleasant, more palatable to carnal man.

Heavenly Father, let me never forget:
He died for my sin.

My Last Post on Palin

2008-10-27T16:33:00.002-04:00

As a Christian, every decision I make is vital. Every decision I make is made either in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ or in submission to my own understanding, my own will.

This is why, regardless of whether or not the world sees any results from my vote- whether or not it gives any candidate a percentage of a percentage point more in the election- my vote counts to Christ.

I regard my vote, in the way that I regard my material possessions, as something over which I am not the owner, but the steward. As steward of my vote, I am not required to use it to change the world, to put the "lesser of two evils" into office, or to keep Barack Obama out. World-change may occur, but it’s not what I’m accountable for. The "lesser of two evils" may be inaugurated, but that's not what I'm accountable for. Barack Obama may be withheld from the Oval Office for the next four years, but neither is that what I'm accountable for.

Election results are not what God will hold me responsible for when I cast my 2008 Presidential vote.

I am responsible to be faithful, using my vote in obedience to the commands and principles of God’s Word (1 Cor. 4:2).

Therefore, before I can vote for any candidate, I must ask: Is this candidate Biblically qualified?

Most who claim Biblical Christianity, probably most folks reading this post, would agree that Obama is disqualified from the start. His anti-Biblical positions in almost every area are in obvious opposition to the requirement that a civil magistrate “fear God;” if the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” a man who doesn’t fear God is totally wrong for a wisdom-requiring leadership position! (Ex. 18:21; Prov. 1:7)

But now we must examine McCain.

The most obvious disqualification to me is his running mate. If I vote for McCain, I’m also voting for Mrs. Sarah Palin. As a woman, Mrs. Palin is completely disqualified for an office of leadership over men. Some contend that male headship applies only to the home and the church. Consider 1 Timothy 2:12-13, in which Paul appeals to the order of creation to support his teaching that women have no authority over men. The reason men are the leaders is simply God’s sovereign ordination in creation. “For Adam was first formed, then Eve” is logic not restrained to home or church; invoking the creation order applies this authority hierarchy to all of creation. Mrs. Palin already has a domain given her by God—that of wife, mother, and keeper at home (1 Timothy 5:10, 14; Titus 2:3–5). Furthermore, every passage of scripture dealing with government authority refers to that authority as a man (2 Samuel 23:3; Romans 13:1–6, and others).

But let me put all thoughts on Mrs. Palin aside and examine Mr. McCain himself.

I realize that he's got high marks on virtually all of the conservative "voter issues guides." The problem with “issues guides” is that they present the publisher-designated issues— not the Biblical qualifications or even the Biblical commands on those issues. For instance, we are expected to look at a nice, neat little chart and be exhilarated that Mr. McCain opposes partial birth abortion. The chart fails to reveal, however, that McCain is still in favor of murder as long as the murderer feels victimized, no questions asked, no tests run (source: New York Times, p. A17, Jan 25, 2000). He may be right on the partial birth abortion “issue,” but he is dead wrong on the sixth commandment.

If he believes that it’s permissible to violate the sixth commandment when human judgment deems best, is he Biblically superior to Obama, who also thinks it’s permissible to violate the sixth commandment when human judgment deems best?

I cannot walk into the polling office, as a representative of Christ, and give the vote of which I'm steward away to a man who openly has no qualms about breaking God’s Law.
Nor can I give my vote, my support, to a woman who has no qualms about leaving her God-given sphere of service and identifying herself with feminism.

I do not want Mr. Obama to be the next President. But my vote would be wasted indeed if, in an effort to keep one man out of office, I voted for a candidate that I didn't truly support.

I must vote on Biblical absolutes, rather than fearful pragmatism.

My last words on the 2008 election are those Martin Luther so succinctly stated long ago:
"My conscience is captive to the Word of God... Here I stand. I can do no other."

Pure Poetry

2008-10-26T15:48:00.001-04:00

I love the English poetry of the Puritan Age. Having recently swept across the expanse of English literature in a too-short week, I found it impossible to choose a favorite author and difficult to choose a favorite era. But if required to name my most beloved period of poetry, I would undoubtedly say that the 1600's are my cup of tea. I love the language used then, the ideals presented, the depth of thought evidenced.

Who isn't intrigued by the metaphysical poets, with their incredibly unique but somehow fitting conceits, odd comparisons of one thing to another?

I tire of hearing love compared to flowers and rainbows, dances and dreams. So when Donne says that the love of a man and his wife binds them together like the legs of a compass (the kind used in geometry class), I perk up and listen.

AS virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
"Now his breath goes," and some say, "No."

So let us melt, and make no noise,
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move ;
'Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.

Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears ;
Men reckon what it did, and meant ;
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.

Dull sublunary lovers' love
—Whose soul is sense—cannot admit
Of absence, 'cause it doth remove
The thing which elemented it.

But we by a love so much refined,
That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assurèd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss.

Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to aery thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so
As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet, when the other far doth roam,
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like th' other foot, obliquely run ;
Thy firmness makes my circle just,
And makes me end where I begun.

- "A Valediction Forbidding Mourning"

I also have to include Donne's poem to Death. The final line is so grand and victorious, especially meaningful in light of 1 Corinthians 15:54: "When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ;
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke ; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more ;
Death, thou shalt die.

Then there's George Herbert, with his beautiful "The Collar." Though visible results are not the proper motive for faithfulness to the Lord, this poem expresses some of the same frustrations I often feel at the seeming lack of earthly reward for doing right. I love how the speaker's self-centered thoughts are abruptly corrected at the end; so often must mine be corrected as well.

I struck the board, and cry’d, No more;
I will abroad.
What ? shall I ever sigh and pine ?
My lines and life are free ; free as the rode,
Loose as the winde, as large as store.
Shall I be still in suit ?
Have I no harvest but a thorn
To let me bloud, and not restore
What I have lost with cordiall fruit ?
Sure there was wine,
Before my sighs did drie it : there was corn
Before my tears did drown it.
Is the yeare onely lost to me ?
Have I no bayes to crown it ?
No flowers, no garlands gay ? all blasted ?
All wasted ?
Not so, my heart : but there is fruit,
And thou hast hands.
Recover all thy sigh-blown age
On double pleasures : leave thy cold dispute
Of what is fit, and not forsake thy cage,
Thy rope of sands,
Which pettie thoughts have made, and made to thee
Good cable, to enforce and draw,
And be thy law,
While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.
Away ; take heed :
I will abroad.
Call in thy deaths head there : tie up thy fears.
He that forbears
To suit and serve his need,
Deserves his load.
But as I rav’d and grew more fierce and wilde,
At every word,
Methought I heard one calling, Childe :
And I reply’d, My Lord.

Less devotional but every bit as beautiful is Richard Lovelace's famous poem, "To Lucasta, Going to the Wars." I loved the last two lines when I first read the piece, but it has extra meaning since I saw the movie Gods and Generals. (If you're curious about that, see the movie for yourself!)

Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkinde,
That from the Nunnerie
Of thy chaste breast, and quiet minde,
To Warre and Armes I flie.
True ; a new Mistresse now I chase,
The first Foe in the Field ;
And with a stronger Faith imbrace
A Sword, a Horse, a Shield.
Yet this Inconstancy is such,
As you too shall adore ;
I could not love thee, Deare, so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.

And I haven't even shared my favorite poem yet...

The Botkin Sisters on Sarah Palin

2008-10-22T13:53:00.003-04:00

"Sarah Palin’s 'conservative' brand of feminism could do far more for the radical-left feminist cause than their own camp. The Left tells young women that it is acceptable to neglect children and family. Palin’s example tells young women that it can be conservative and 'Christian' to neglect children and family. Her example also subverts gender roles. Despite Todd Palin’s traditional, manly-man image and Sarah’s traditional, womanly one, we believe they are undermining biblical marriage relationships and gender roles with their spotlight examples as Mrs. Civil Leader and Mr. Mom. The message of this possible First Family: men and women are interchangeable. And as Christ’s Bride, under His headship, this is something the Church must stand against."

Definitely read more at Q&A Regarding our Position on Sarah Palin.

I Visit South Korea Every Day

2008-10-21T22:58:00.005-04:00

Well, in a sense. I just have to share a new opportunity which has already taught and enriched me much.
Through a Christian program called Homeschool Friend, I'm privileged to be able to tutor Korean children in English. Four evenings a week, from my desk in my own home, I speak "face to face" with my students in South Korea through video-conferencing.
Currently I have five students, who are as dear as they can be. They delight in learning, reciting, and discussing the Bible. Their diligence in study is a challenge to my own studiousness. Of course, they need motivation as all students do, but generally, their enthusiasm is contagious. I look forward to my English classes every day.
The process of becoming a tutor for Homeschool Friend was enjoyable and stimulating. I was thrilled at the spiritual emphasis and the focus on discipleship even in the interview process. Following this was a period of training, which included an excellent introductory course in teaching ESL and many training videos in techniques, using the online classroom, etc., complete with homework assignments. I loved the training and learned a great deal from it.
Since I first studied a foreign language mayself, I've had a keen interest in teaching English to speakers of other languages. I'm immensely grateful for the chance to dabble in TESOL right here in my home, through a program to which Christ is so central.

A Gem of a Quote

2008-10-18T21:26:00.003-04:00

found here:

Proud independence is no noble goal for a woman, and the spirit which pursues it is no part of a godly girl's trousseau.

Sorry that posts have been so sparse lately. I've been busy taking CLEP tests and loving it! More later....

I Would Support Sarah Palin 100% If...

2008-10-09T17:28:00.002-04:00

Mrs. Palin's actions would have my highest admiration and complete support if she followed this advice:

Sarah Palin, God calls you to a higher position than the vice-presidency of the United States. He calls you to be the most influential woman in the world today, perhaps in history, by taking your stand on the Biblical principle of His divine model of womanhood. I implore you to see yourself, not as a candidate for political office, but as a cherished child of Christ, in subjection to His will...
I pray that you will demonstrate an even greater humility and strength of character than we have seen thus far by admitting you have taken the wrong path by accepting the nomination for vice presidency and ask to be released from this commitment.

Read the rest of this excellent letter to Mrs. Palin, written by Mrs. Rebecca Morecraft.

Tagged!

2008-10-08T17:41:00.005-04:00

I've been tagged by Sharon!

Is this freeze tag or regular tag? ;)

According to the Official Internet Tag Guide Book, available at your local public library and various Ebay merchants, this is what I'm required to do:

1. Link to the person(s) who tagged you. (Link.)
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag sixish people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Having established the Laws of Tagging, let us proceed.

Six Random Things About Myself:

1. I absolutely, completely, fervently love thunderstorms and all forms of severe weather. Others head for cover; I can't keep myself indoors.

2. I refuse to read the local newspapers because of the overwhelming number of grammatical and spelling errors.

3. Okay, I did read the newspaper once, long ago. I responded to a Letter to the Editor which claimed creationism should not be accepted in schools. This began a rather lengthy email debate with the science professor who wrote the initial piece. In the end, he conceded, never knowing that his correspondent was twelve years old.

4. I abhor cats, dogs, and Chihuahuas, but am fond of all other animals, including reptiles, amphibians, aquatic critters, and insects.

5. I'm obsessed with the color green.

6. When I was seven, I overheard my dad absentmindedly saying that he "bet a hundred dollars" that something couldn't be done. I promptly did it, proved to him that I could do it, and- since my Daddy is a man of his word- began my first bank account.

Tag, You're It!:

1. If you have a Blogger blog.
2. If you have a Wordpress blog.
3. If you live in the U.S.
4. If you live in Florida.
5. If you see the word "qwerty" on your keyboard.
6. If you drink dihydrogen monoxide.

That should safely cover at least six people.

The Noblest Work

2008-10-07T23:20:00.002-04:00

"'He created them as male and female.' In order to establish human society God saw that it was necessary to create for man's mate, not his exact image, but his counterpart. An identical creature to man would have utterly marred their companionship, and would have been an equal curse to both. Although there is an obvious similarity in the man and woman, yet there are unique differences which clearly reveal that each is fitted for works and duties unsuitable for the other. And it is no more a degradation to the woman, that the man can do some things better than she can, than the fact that the woman has natural superiority in other things.
"The instrumentality of the mother's training in the salvation of her children is mighty and decisive; the influence of the minister over his hundreds is slight and non-essential. If he contributes a few grains, in numerous cases, to turn the scales for heaven, the mother contributes tons on the right scales in her few cases. The one works more widely on the surface, the other more deeply; so that the real amount of soil moved by the two workmen is not usually in favor of the preacher. The woman of sanctified ambition has nothing to regret as to the dignity of her sphere. She does the noblest work that is done on earth. However, its public recognition is usually more through the children and others who benefit than through her own person, and that is precisely the aspect of her work which makes it most Christlike. It is also precisely the aspect at which a sinful and selfish ambition takes offence.
"The woman is not designed by God, nor entitled to all the positions in society to which the male is entitled. God has disqualified her for any such exercise of them by the endowments of body, mind, and heart he has given her, and the duties he has assigned her in her daily life. And since she has no right to assume the masculine positions, so she will find in the attempt to do so only ruin to her own character and to society. For instance, the very traits of emotion and character which make the woman man’s cherished and invaluable helpmate, the traits which she must have in order to fulfill the purpose of her existence would ensure her unfitness to meet the distinctive temptations of publicity and power. The attempt to do so would corrupt all these lovelier traits, while it would still leave her, as man’s rival, 'the weaker partner.' She would lose everything and gain nothing."

- Mr. Robert Lewis Dabney, emphasis mine

I'm just quoting an eight-year-old....

2008-10-01T16:12:00.004-04:00

...who melodramatically confided this to me several days ago.

"My cousin is homeschooled, and she reads alot. When she talks, she uses long words that I can't understand.
So I told her, 'Please use smaller words when I'm around. I don't know big words; I'm not a homeschooler!'"

Where do I sign up?

2008-09-27T16:41:00.003-04:00

"I am most anxious to enlist everyone who can speak or write to join in checking this mad, wicked folly of 'Women's Rights', with all its attendant horrors, on which her poor feeble sex is bent, forgetting every sense of womanly feelings and propriety. Feminists ought to get a good whipping. Were woman to 'unsex' themselves by claiming equality with men, they would become the most hateful, heathen and disgusting of beings and would surely perish without male protection."
-- Queen Victoria, 1870

This Made Me Smile

2008-09-27T13:34:00.000-04:00

from Answers In Genesis

Prioritizing Within My Place

2008-09-25T13:34:00.003-04:00

Recently I expressed a concern to some "Titus 2 older women" in my church. I told them that I often struggle to decide which of many opportunities I should focus on at the moment. All of these opportunities are good pursuits which fall within the range of service at home, such as helping my sister with her grammar assignment, giving the baby a bath, sending an email for my Dad, cleaning the bathroom, practicing the piano, helping Mama prepare dinner, or working on academic studies. These activities are all worthy and necessary; the problem is that often two or three of these activities are calling my name at the same time!

At first, my plea for help in this area began as a complaint. Something along the lines of, "I feel pulled in a million directions! It's so hard to figure out what I'm supposed to do moment by moment as a single woman! If only I were married and had children, then everything would be so clear... I would know exactly what my responsibility was in each moment, first to husband, then to children, then to home..."

My wisdom-wielding listeners were quick to remind me that having my dream job wouldn't make my struggles suddenly disappear. They spoke from experience when they testified that as a woman with obligations to a husband, children, and a home, my decisions will only become more numerous. In any given moment, will I help the 14-year-old with square roots or the 7-year-old with fractions? Will I clean the bathroom or try to get that stain out of someone's shirt? The number of activities calling my name will only be multiplied, and these new activities will also fall within the sphere of service to family and home.

Prioritizing, choosing how to spend each moment, is not something that will go away in the future; rather, it is something that will only become more complicated! For that reason, I must view this season of life as training in making those decisions.

The ladies I asked had some good thoughts on this. In a case in which it isn't clear what my first focus should be, I should ask myself: which task falls under the highest priority category?
For example, in priority order, here are some of the roles which I am currently called to fill on a daily basis:

A. Daughter

B. Sister

C. Aunt

D. Student

Now it becomes obvious that I choose giving the baby a bath over my personal studies. Or sending an email for my Dad before helping my sister with grammar. It's not always that simple, but this is a start.

Until I returned home, I didn't realize how self-centered I had become while I was away at college. I had a hard time fitting back into family life, taking others' interests into consideration constantly, and realizing that my decisions no longer affected only myself. Maybe that's why it's of utmost importance to me now that I keep my life's activities Biblically prioritized. I don't want to get into the habit of simply choosing whatever activity is my personal choice at the moment. If I do that, I will almost certainly face a terrible struggle to submit in daily choices as a married woman someday, should the Lord so ordain.

Rather, I wish to see each minute-by-minute decision as a chance to submit to Christ's Lordship by fulfilling whatever specific role He has for me in that moment.

I'm shamefully far from making every decision on this basis, but God is gracious! I thank Him for the shared wisdom of others, the guidance of His Word, and the transforming work of His Spirit.

Fall Fancy

2008-09-22T19:58:00.003-04:00

Fall is a fleeting performer where I live.

Summer always hesitates to exit the stage, and a mild but dreary winter debuts too soon.
For the past few days, however, early morning has been positively autumnal. The air is a bit crisper, the temperature a tad cooler. Wisps of breeze coax reluctant leaves to dance from their treetops to the waiting grass. The curtain has fallen on summer's oppressive humidity, and a refreshed audience can breathe more easily.

Praise the Lord... I think autumn is waiting in the wings!

Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ... Ephesians 5:20

Mr. Scott Brown on the First Dude

2008-09-19T14:39:00.004-04:00

"It should take our breath away that Todd Palin will be the very first man in history to play this role reversal in the highest offices of the land. Why? There is a reason this is the first time in history for such a thing. The short answer is that we have completely rejected the biblical order for home, church and state. We have abandoned our theological moorings regarding manhood and womanhood, motherhood and fatherhood. These moorings have been constructed from explicit statements of scripture that are not valued much anymore."

Click here to read the rest of Mr. Scott Brown's post Why are Evangelicals Applauding the Stay at Home Dad? (regarding Mrs. Palin's husband, to whom she refers as the "First Dude").

A Goodly Heritage

2008-09-14T17:17:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, at our annual Family Reunion, my entire extended family acknowledged the 59th wedding anniversary of my grandparents.

But what we celebrated was even more profound than that. My grandparents have not only been a beautiful example of marital love for one another; they have also passed their love for God down four generations.

In a very sweet moment yesterday, my nine-year-old niece sang these lyrics to her great-grandparents:

I may not have riches as some others may
But I have a mother who knows how to pray
And maybe there's some things I've missed in my youth
But I have a father who stands for the truth

I have a goodly heritage
I'm blessed with things you can't see
I have a goodly heritage
And that is worth far more to me

And if in the future, my parents pass on,
To dwell in that City we've come to call Home
They may not leave me the goods of this world
But I have accepted their God and His Word

Chorus

I have everything, all that I need
All that I need, treasures unseen,
And that is worth far more to me

The longer I live, the more I realize what a rare blessing that is.

It is my greatest desire that someday as many generations after me will be serving the Lord.

I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. Psalm 89:1

Sarah Palin and the Sovereignty of God, II

2008-09-13T01:10:00.009-04:00

(Continued from Part One)

Position #2:

“I know God is in control, but I think He wants us to use the free will He has given us to do what is best for our nation.”

What is best for our nation? Remember, I’m responding to a group of people who acknowledge that Mr. McCain and Mrs. Palin are not the best choice for our national leadership, but are merely better than the prospect of “President Barack Obama.” To say that voting for McCain is best because it will keep Obama out of office is pure pragmatism based on what we think is best for our nation now. For me to cast a vote for the Republican ticket would be for me to vote, not on principle, but on pragmatism (“the end justifies the means”). It would be because I believed that keeping Barack Obama away from the White House (“the end”) was worth giving my support to someone who would not uphold Biblical principles in that White House (“the means”). This reasoning bases my decision not on the Bible, but on my own opinion of what my nation needs for the next four years. Carry that logic further. While I’m voting according to my own reasoning, I may as well consider five years from now. What will happen then? Maybe it would be best to vote for extremely liberal Obama now, so that next election we would have a chance of getting a really good “conservative” candidate into office. Voting for a candidate for any reason other than his concurrence with the principles of God’s Word bases the choice on the confusing, crumbly foundation of my own understanding.

Furthermore, search out Mr. McCain’s record. Would he really be such a better decision-maker than Mr. Obama? Consider that John McCain believes abortion is perfectly permissible if the mother claims that she was raped. In other words, he thinks that killing babies is okay sometimes. Apparently, his view of murder is not based upon the Scriptures. Why, then, does he believe abortion is wrong in any other instance? What is his view of this issue based upon other than his changing opinion, his own understanding?

Proverbs 3:3-7... Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

How sovereign is your God? Does He need you to employ pragmatic means in order to accomplish His end? Or will He accomplish His will as you make choices based on the truth of His Word?

Position #3:

“I know Sarah Palin shouldn’t be in office, but she’s better than the alternative, and God can still use her. He can use anyone.”

Yes. Even Barack Obama.

If you’re voting for Sarah Palin based solely on the fact that God can use anyone, you may as well vote Democrat this year. Think about it; the best bolster of Christianity throughout history has been persecution. Maybe God wants to use Barack Obama as one more step toward the open persecution of Christians in America. Consider judgment. God certainly used leaders and other nations to judge Israel. Maybe I should vote for Mr. Obama because God wants to use Barack Obama to judge the United States.

It’s sad, the way we toss God’s sovereignty around where it conforms to our own dictates. I’ve heard and read this “God can use anyone” argument unbelievably often, and it is nothing short of silliness. If you were sick and needed surgery, would you choose your mail carrier to perform the operation, based on the fact that God can use anyone? Would you ask the ten-year-old next door to drive you to the hospital, because God can use anyone? No! In both cases the proposed person is unqualified.

So it is with Mrs. Palin. According to the Bible, she is unqualified for the job of Vice President. God can still use her, but is that reason enough to vote for her rather than anyone else?

As for God using people, we could equally apply the concept to our voting for someone other than Mr. McCain and Mrs. Palin. Sure, other choices don't seem to have a chance at winning, but hasn't God "chosen the weak things of the world to shame those which are strong"? (1 Corinthians 1:27).

God can indeed use Mrs. Palin, but according to scripture, where does He want to use her?

Titus 2:4-5... train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

How sovereign is your God? Is He Lord enough to use the unqualified VP you're settling for, but not enough to establish His appointed on the throne of a nation? Or is He Lord enough to use anyone, including whomever He appoints as the next U.S. President?

And Position #4:

“A vote against McCain is a vote for Obama! If you do not vote for McCain, you are assisting in the slaughter of unborn babies!”

First, unless the Presidential race includes a “yes or no” question on your ballot, you don’t have the option to vote against anyone, only for. (Well, I guess you could write in “Please, anybody but Obama!” if that would be the essential purpose of your vote for McCain.)

Second, if McCain were against the slaughter of unborn babies, then using this argument would be somewhat akin to telling a police officer that because he isn’t a firefighter, he’s assisting in arson all over the nation.

Third… no comment.

Sarah Palin and the Sovereignty of God

2008-09-11T21:18:00.000-04:00

The blogosphere buzzes with response to Sarah Palin’s nomination as VP on the Republican ticket. For blog posts on the topic, the “comment” function seems to explode with feedback (sometimes, explosive feedback).

It seems Mrs. Palin’s nomination has rekindled the “voting for the lesser of two evils” debate.

Among those who voice their thoughts on Mrs. Palin appear two broad groups of Christian readers: those who wouldn’t mind seeing a woman as Vice President, and those who acknowledge that a woman in the Vice Presidency is not the Biblical ideal.

Among those who acknowledge that a woman VP is not the Biblical ideal, there are two more camps. There are those who, like myself, absolutely will not vote for McCain/Palin, usually because of other political/moral disappointments with the pair and/or because they will not vote a woman into an office for which she is Biblically unqualified.

Then there are those who would rather see Mrs. Palin in her role as wife, mother, and keeper-at-home or who would just rather not see her as the Vice President, but they’re going to vote for her anyway. McCain/Palin looks a whole lot better than Obama/Biden, and unlike third parties, a Republican candidate “has a chance.” They are willing to settle for voting for the “lesser of two evils” in order to keep the greater evil out of office at any price.

Both sides are ready to defend their stances. Exasperated blog readers and desperate message board participants are obviously typing as fast as they can to get their viewpoints out there, even using ALL CAPS and multiple exclamation points!!!!!. :)

As I’ve read and considered many articles on Sarah Palin’s nomination as well as the responses to those articles, it seems to me that much of our debate comes down to one issue.

How sovereign is your God?

Browse a few of my Favorite Stops listed to the right of this post. Find their writings on Mrs. Palin, and then note the replies from various readers. Know that I don’t have any specific instances in mind, nor am I targeting any particular author, but on the whole, as I’ve read over hundreds of responses on dozens of blogs, I’ve seen comments along this line:

1. “I don’t believe it is right for Sarah Palin to run for VP, and I know McCain isn’t the best man for the job, but to vote for anyone other than McCain is to let Obama win!”

2. “I know God is in control, but I think He wants us to use the free will He has given us to do what is best for our nation.”

3. “I know Sarah Palin shouldn’t be in office, but she’s better than the alternative, and God can still use her. He can use anyone.”

and even…

4. “A vote against McCain is a vote for Obama! If you do not vote for McCain, you are assisting in the slaughter of unborn babies!”

The quotes listed are intended to represent several different kinds of responses to the “lesser of two evils” question. I would like to address each of these arguments briefly. Today, I’ll just cover the first.

“…To vote for anyone other than John McCain is to let Barack Obama win.”

The keyword here is “let.” This argument assumes that we the voters are the ones who choose the winner of the election and allow him to become the next United States President.

Daniel 2:20-21 assures me that both the choice of our next leader and his permission to take office rest elsewhere.

“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.”
Romans 13:1- “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Also see Jeremiah 27:5.

We benefit when God uses us to accomplish His will; I completely believe that if we have the privilege to vote, we should do so prayerfully and in a way that upholds the principles of God’s Word. But ultimately, God is the one Who “lets” a candidate win the next election. I don’t want Mr. Obama to be the next President. I’m not voting for him or for Mr. McCain. But God has a plan in mind that is much bigger than the next four years. If He sees fit to establish Barack Obama or John McCain or Nebuchadnezzar or Nero as the leader of my nation, He knows what He’s doing. I’m going to vote in the way that best concurs with the Bible’s instruction and leave the rest to the Lord.

How sovereign is your God? Does He depend on you to let people take office, or is He big enough to establish kings and dethrone them?

Tune in next time for a response to blog comment number two.

For His Own Glory

2008-09-10T14:54:00.000-04:00

Because I've found it a helpful tool in discipling the children in my life, and because I want to use it as a doctrinal tool with my future children, I am memorizing the children's catechism.

I'm only three questions in so far, but already I stand in wonder at the theological depths expressed in these first three truths:

Who made you? God.
What else did God make? God made all things.
Why did God make all things? For His own glory.

Ruminate on that last one for a bit. The reason God does anything is for His own glory.

The Culture
At first glance, from our culture's perspective, that seems pretty weird.
I recently asked a group of children why they thought God created them. Their unanimous, enthusiastic reply was, "To protect the environment!" Knowing that they learned this from the public school, I hardly think that they had the dominion mandate in mind when they quoted this answer!
On the other hand, from mainstream Christianity's me-centered viewpoint, it's a bit repulsive to think that the God who's supposed to be a genie in a bottle, whose name is to be invoked for the fulfillment of our every whim, who is supposed to do everything out of love for us because we're just so special, would be selfish enough to do something simply for His own glory.

The Logic
I used to think that God made us just for the purpose of loving us, almost as if God were lonely and needed someone to love. Then I realized that- ouch! That was nowhere in the Bible. That theory also makes man the ultimate cause in the universe.
Recently a Critical Issues Commentary broadcast caused me to carefully consider this. Everyone has a motive for his actions. There is some reason, good or bad, logical or illogical, behind everything we do. Those who act without motive are considered mentally insane. God's actions are motivated as well. God is supreme over everything in existence, holy in every way, and perfect in all of His motives. Therefore, God's reason for acting must always be the highest, holiest, ultimate reason. As there is no cause in existence higher, holier, or more ultimate than God Himself, He is His own highest motive. His purpose for acting must be His own glory. (Again, I gratefully acknowledge CIC ministry for introducing this reasoning to me.)

The Word
But logic isn't sufficient to build a doctrine upon. Doctrine must be based upon scripture. Two of the scriptures which most succinctly show that God's creative acts were for His own glory are below:

Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all
things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Revelation 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Also see Isaiah 43:7, 43:20-21; 44:23; 48:9-11; and Ez. 36:21-32. Scripture is replete with instances of God acting for His own glory, for His own name's sake, if only we would strip away our selfishness and see it.

The Result
I'm heartbroken that God didn't create me just to love me.
Just kidding. :)
Rather, I have an incredible sense of purpose for living. What aim could be higher than to glorify God?
Furthermore, I never cease to be awed at God's total holiness, His set-apartness over everything He has created, His complete self-sufficiency. He's not uninvolved; it's not that He doesn't love us (come on, we all know John 3:16) and orchestrate His sovereign will in our lives (who doesn't quote Romans 8:28, better yet verses 29-30?).
I'm awed that the God who needs no one but Himself, even for a motive to act, would create us, pay His own required punishment for our sins, love us, draw us to Himself, and be interested in conforming us to the image of His dear Son.
And He does it for His own glory.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only wise God,
be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17

P.S... If you haven't yet visited Jasmine Baucham's blog to watch her Dad faithfully uphold God's Word on CNN, you don't want to miss it!

On Hold

2008-09-06T16:35:00.001-04:00

"Hold! Hold!" cries my year-and-a-half-old niece, stretching up her little arms to me.

She doesn't realize that this is a crucial moment and that I don't have time to hold her.
I'm organizing my room, and this may be my last good chance to do it this weekend.
Or I'm reading my Sunday School assignment; it has to be done before tomorrow.
Or maybe I'm blogging about something really important, like the Vice Presidency.

But she doesn't know that. "Hold, pease!" she calls as she strains upward on the tips of her toes.

For a moment I pause. I was just holding her five minutes ago. Can't she play quietly for a few more minutes? I can hold her all day tomorrow.

But she wants to be held now.
So I let the cleaning wait, bookmark my Sunday School book, or save that blog post as a draft.

Because tomorrow, she may shy away from hugs and "I love you's"; now she's begging for them.
Tomorrow, she might be content to play quietly all day, satisfied with her own thoughts; but now she wants to hear mine.
Tomorrow her worldview will be a little more solidified; now she wants it shaped.

And sometimes Doing Hard Things means putting those "important" things on hold to cuddle a chubby baby, repeatedly ask "Who made you?," and patiently coax out the most profound word she can attempt.

"Dod."

The Day I Agreed With the Liberals

2008-09-04T10:37:00.000-04:00

We live in a world of labels. Are you Republican or Democrat? Liberal or conservative? Do you hold traditional or progressive values?

Labels don't impress me. The liberals disappoint in many areas, as do the conservatives (most recently, in "sounding traditional feminist themes"). The same conservatives who would have quietly counted Hilary Clinton's being a woman in their arguments against her are now celebrating Mrs. Palin's candidacy. "Values" are a matter of convenience; each side seems eager to espouse whatever belief helps them bash the other party at the moment.

They may be upholding a double-standard, but the liberals are actually right on one thing; Sarah Palin, a mother of five children, has no business seeking the Vice Presidency.

From the Associated Press:

"Many liberals are belittling the choice, suggesting that as a mother of five children — including an infant with Down syndrome — she has neither the time nor the experience to become vice president.
It's the conservatives now who are now sounding traditional feminist themes, claiming there's no reason why she can't multitask and be a mother and vice president at the same time. "

That's where I disagree with the "conservatives" and, though amused that the liberals would be applying traditional values to their arguments against McCain, I have to agree with them. Mrs. Palin simply hasn't the time to become VP.

Not if she plans to fulfill her God-given role as wife, mother, and homemaker.

In my flurry of thoughts on McCain's running mate, the four below begged consideration.

As a Christian, I wholeheartedly claim neither conservatism nor liberalism, but Biblicism; therefore my conclusions must be guided by neither conservatives, nor liberals, nor my own opinion, but by the Word of God.

1.) As a woman, is McCain's choice Biblically qualified for a position of leadership over men? (1 Timothy 2:12-13; 1 Corinthians 11:3-8-9; Ephesians 5:22-23; Isaiah 3:12)

2.) Mrs. Palin is seeking a job outside of her God-given sphere of service when the Lord has already granted her one within it. Fulfilling Titus 2 responsibilities to a home, a husband, and five children sounds like full-time employment to me. Can she honestly devote herself to both pursuits? (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; 1 Samuel 3:13; Proverbs 19:8; Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:7; Proverbs 31; Titus 2:4-6)

3.) As McCain's Vice-President, Mrs. Palin would be required to devote herself to making John McCain successful, to making him "known in the gates." Can she simultaneously, and primarily, do the same for her own husband? If she were able, would it be right? (Proverbs 31:23; Ephesians 5:22)

4.) Mrs. Palin is upheld as a champion for feminist accomplishment. She is a member of "Feminists for Life." Does this cause represent the ideals of Biblical womanhood? (See references here)

A quote from Mrs. Jennie Chancey summarizes my thoughts on McCain's VP pick. "A wife and mother has already been elected by God to the highest office in the land. She has her own particular husband to help, his calling to make successful, and her children to nurture and train to the glory of God. How could the vice-presidency possibly compare with a task that God has personally designed her to fill?"

For more [better] thoughts on the topic, see Joyfully Home, Dr. Voddie Baucham's blog, Generation Cedar, Mr. Doug Phillips' blog, and Ladies Against Feminism.

God Wants Children Taught by Trained Professionals

2008-08-29T18:51:00.000-04:00

The cartoon below, from "Mallard Fillmore," reminds me of the sentiments of a certain senator.

"Imagine a country in which nearly all children between the ages of three and five attend preschool in sparkling classrooms, with teachers recruited and trained as child care professionals." -- Hilary Clinton, It Takes a Village

In case she hasn't noticed, America already is that country, and where has it gotten us? Maybe all the classrooms don't sparkle, but try to find a preschool or daycare "teacher" who doesn't claim to be a trained professional. I was considered a "trained" professional. (Showing up for the first day of work, receiving no instructions, and being given single-handed charge of thirty unknown children is considered "training" by most daycares.) I've worked in those sparkling classrooms, and I don't ever want to go back. Much less send a three-year-old.

With whole websites devoted to exposing what happens at daycares as parents drive away, I don't feel it necessary to detail my experiences working at daycares and preschools. The problems with the daycare/preschool system abound, but that isn't where the real issue lies.

The root problem with daycares and preschools is that they aren't the ones who are fit to do their job. Even assuming that daycare workers have had significant training, hear what I'm saying. Trained professionals are not the people who are best equipped to train children. (By the way, children aren't "raised." Farm animals and crops are raised; children are trained.)

I would think that the One Who created those children would know who best to entrust them to. Since God made them, His authority trumps Mrs. Clinton's on the subject on her best day.

So who does God hold accountable for the training of children? Emphasis mine:

Genesis 18:19 "For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him."
Deuteronomy 4:9-10 "Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.
Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'"
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."
1 Samuel 3:13 "For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them."
Proverbs 19:18 "Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death."
Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
Hebrews 12:7 "It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?"

What?! Parents are supposed to instruct their own children? But not every mother and father have state teacher certification! Senator Clinton, quick-- we need a program to make trained professionals out of parents!

Hey, I think I found one. Again, emphasis is my own:

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."
2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."
2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
James 1:5 "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

Let's recap.
1.) The Lord picks ("recruits") who gets to be a parent; He gives parents the job of training children.
2.) He offers, free of charge, all of the wisdom parents need to be equipped ("trained") for their work.

Maybe Senator Clinton was correct about one thing.

God wants children raised by "teachers recruited and trained as child care professionals." :)

"The Shack"

2008-08-28T12:55:00.001-04:00

"An exercise in discernment and critical thinking" is what Tim Challies calls his review of The Shack. I would add that his work is also timely and Biblical.

The Shack is a hugely popular work of fiction that communicates William Young's theology to its readers. Though a controversial topic among the "Christian community," I am saddened that it is not more controversial. Shouldn't there be more posts by discerning reviewers on online booksellers? Shouldn't even the average church-going American be revolted by the heresy in this book? Or has "mainstream Christianity" become so emergent, mystical, and humanistic that this is the stuff of its doctrine now?

As I am typing, The Shack is #2 on Amazon.com's "Top 100" list. Considering The Shack's notoriety, someone is going to ask you about the book or rave to you about its effect on their life. Maybe you'll see a thread about it on your favorite message board. Or perhaps someone will care enough to help prepare you for these encounters by sharing a few resources.

Oh, wait. That's what I was about to do. :)

I highly recommend Tim Challies "A Reader's Review of The Shack." It is available as a well-designed PDF file.

You can also listen to Kevin Swanson's mp3 review from his radio program, Generations. (Note: discussion of The Shack begins about half-way through the audio presentation. It is preceded by remarks on a letter to Barack Obama, which is another telling testimony to the sad state of American Christianity.)

Condensing Grace?

2008-08-26T23:29:00.000-04:00

I was stumped recently when I was required to concisely give my testimony, describe my "daily devotions," and state my vision for discipleship.
As usual, I feel my answers were inadequate. It is quite a challenge to describe the salvation of the chief of sinners in mere paragraphs. Yet I was asked not only to share the testimony of my salvation, but also to bring things up-to-date with what God is currently doing in my life. How can one truly compact a testimony to God's love that endless words could not do justice to? Not to overlook the Holy Spirit's leading "into all truth" (John 16:13), but this is one reason day-by-day, relational discipleship is so important. It takes time to convey the amazing truth of God's Word, and earth will never have sufficient hours or verbiage for us to fully relay God's goodness. I am so thankful that His Word is sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Still, being forced to attempt putting God's grace to me into words was a blessing. It caused me to reflect on a few key wonders and to thank my Lord for them.
I realize that I've never yet shared my testimony on this blog. In the future I hope to elaborate; but for now, here is the ultra-condensed version.

When I was eleven years old, the Holy Spirit convicted me through the Bible and through my pastor- my father. I had tried in vain to keep the commands of God’s Word, but at last I realized that in my own strength it was impossible, particularly to display the fruit of the Spirit laid out in Galatians 5:22-25. I became convinced that I was a sinner, helpless to please God and continually rebelling against Him. By His grace through faith I was saved from my sin and its wages when I repented of my sin, turning away from it and to Christ as my Savior and Lord, who took the punishment of my sin for me. I now live to be conformed to the image of Christ and to further His kingdom by discipling others. Recently God has been revealing to me how much more I must depend on Him alone, putting “no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3)

"Daily Devotions:"

I am hungry for Scripture and read it daily; throughout the day I sing praises to my Lord and pray. I love to memorize God’s Word and study it in-depth book-by-book, using concordances, word studies, and sound hermeneutics. I crave the consistency of a set, significant amount of time to do this each day. When I do not have time to open all the study tools, however, I read a short passage and think on it as I go about my day, praying that God will use it to change me. He is gracious to show me wonderful things in His Word. I am currently reading Second Chronicles 7. Today I was impressed and challenged by King Solomon’s humility as he dedicated the temple before my awesome God.

Vision for discipleship:

I believe that the center of discipleship should be the home; however, each of us is individually called to make disciples wherever we go. This means that not only am I to show others the way of salvation through Christ, but I am also responsible to help them grow in their knowledge of Him. My vision for individual discipleship is that others will see Christ first in my actions, next in my words, and finally in any opportunity I have to present God’s Word. My 9-year-old niece has recently been saved. I am thrilled to not only read the Bible and pray with her, but also to walk alongside her and point out how Christ’s Lordship affects every part of life. I am privileged to teach 4^th-6^th graders in a worldview class at church. It is exciting to watch them grow in their understanding of God and His Word.

Here's something I've always wondered: Why is the daily time of searching God's Word and seeking His face in prayer called "daily devotions?" This is an honest question. I would really like to know who started that and why.
Until I find out, I think it should rather be called "daily surrenders."

By the way, I would love to read others' testimonies (abridged or not!). If anyone has a testimony on their website or blog, please comment, leaving a link. Thanks!

What to Expect from Beaver Cleaver

2008-08-23T09:57:00.001-04:00

I happened to catch an episode of Leave it to Beaver yesterday morning. Now, I'm not a big Beaver Cleaver fan. Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, and the Food Network have a monopoly on my television viewing. But this episode caught my attention in one of those "My! How times have changed!" moments.

Beaver and his big brother had been assigned to clean up their yard while Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver were away for the day. Beaver and Bro respectfully agreed. They started out well, raking and picking up the trash. Eventually, however, they became distracted by some of the interesting garbage, and were soon playing on job. This happened a few times, and each time they realized that they were "goofing off" and got back to work. But their lack of diligence meant that the job had taken longer than it should, and the man who was to haul off their trash in his truck was no longer available. This got the boys into a pickle; big brother's friend offered to take the trash to the dump, but instead he dumped it onto a vacant lot. Later, Mr. Cleaver found out about the whole situation when the lot's owner approached him at home demanding an answer. Mr. Cleaver confronted Beaver, his brother, and their mischievous friend; all were sentenced to cleaning up the mess for good. The Cleaver kids apologized and learned their lesson.

That's the Leave it to Beaver version. Let's imagine how the story would have unfolded in modern day suburbia.

Beaver and his big brother had been assigned to clean up their yard while Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver were away for the day. Beaver and Bro were still rolling their eyes, grunting, and slamming doors when their mom and dad left. With clenched jaws, they turned on their i-pods and began raking and picking up the trash. Eventually, however, they started arguing about whose section of the yard was bigger. They finally decided that only one of them could work at a time since they couldn't stand to be near each other. They took shifts, one working in the yard while the other played video games indoors. But their lack of diligence meant that the job had taken longer than it should, and the man who was to haul off their trash in his truck was no longer available. No big deal; big brother had received a shiny new car for his fifteenth birthday. He left Beaver at home watching MTV, picked up a few friends who appreciated his booming new speaker system, and dumped the trash onto a vacant lot. Later, Mr. Cleaver found out about the whole situation when the lot's owner approached him at home demanding an answer. Mr. Cleaver became infuriated that anyone would imply there was something wrong with his children's actions. He told the man to butt out, and paid a service to clean the vacant lot. After all, it didn't matter how they'd done it; he was just thrilled that a teenager and a preteen had even gotten the job done.

Maybe this was on my mind because I've just finished reading Do Hard Things. How many parents of teenagers in America would give their children the task that Mr. Cleaver did and expect it to be done well? Our culture's expectations of this age group are pitiful.

Lest we think Mr. Cleaver's expectations were high, I'm reminded of an excellent message by S.M. Davis, "What to Expect from a Twelve-Year-Old." Based on biblical and historical precedents, here are seven things that he says can be expected of a twelve-year-old:

1. A mature sense of responsibility, purpose, and destiny
2. A keen sense of discernment especially in choosing friends
3. A burning desire to understand truth and wisdom
4. A fully obedient spirit
5. A consistently respectful attitude
6. A thorough commitment to do the will of God
7. An unmistakable godliness

I know ten-year-olds from God-fearing homes who meet these expectations.

But back to Beaver. He and his brother knew what was expected of them. I think Mr. Cleaver came close to number four in the list when he said, "Do what you're told when you're told, and we'll all avoid a lot of trouble.

A better way of saying it: "Do what you're told when you're told, for this is right."

Thanks to Strengthened by Grace for wording and posting Mr. Davis's list.

Don't mind the painters...

2008-08-21T22:59:00.000-04:00

There's a bit of remodeling going on here at Randombling. Just cosmetic stuff. :)

If things look a little messy, margins are odd, or colors don't coordinate, it's only because the painters are still working.
Thanks for your patience!

Do Hard Things

2008-08-19T13:54:00.000-04:00

I wish I had written this book. In it, Alex and Brett Harris boldly proclaim what I've been desperately attempting to communicate since before I even became a teenager.
I absolutely dreaded my thirteenth birthday. One reason was that every time that particular number was mentioned, some well-meaning adult nearby would roll her eyes and say to my mom, "Uh-oh. You're gonna have a teenager in the house" or "Don't you just wanna stick 'em in the closet 'til they're eighteen!?" I hated those responses and others like them; something always rose up passionately within me when I heard them. I didn't want to be just another teenage daughter for my parents to survive. I wanted to prove to the world that someone could be a teenager and actually be a sane, Christlike disciple, a blessing, simultaneously.
But another reason I dreaded turning thirteen was that, at the same time that I wanted to defy those expectations, I felt stifled by them. I could tell that, no matter how loudly I protested against the norm, no one really expected me to be any different. No matter how hard I tried, I was going to end up being the "typical" obnoxious, shallow teenager, just because it came with the territory.
By God's grace, those years were far from the typical. I believe He lead me beyond the low expectations. If I had read Do Hard Things then, I might have been encouraged to follow Him even more boldly and to view the teenage years with hope rather than dread.
I've only read the first four chapters, but I'm cheering at the conclusion of each paragraph. Though our culture expects little more of adolescents than of preschoolers, the Harris twins have clearly demonstrated that the "teen" years should be some of the most studious, diligent, daring, and productive of one's life.
I wish church youth groups (if they must exist) would paste my favorite lines from the book into the covers of their Bibles (notice these would be Bibles, not paraphrases!). From the opening of chapter one:

Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book.
And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care.
And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it.
And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last.
We do.

I can't wait to read more.

A Peek at Passion and Purity

2008-08-18T20:25:00.000-04:00

Elisabeth Elliot’s book, Passion and Purity, presents a Biblical approach to romantic relationships, addressing how to prepare for a relationship, how to be pure in a relationship, and what is proper in a relationship. First, preparation for a romantic relationship begins with contentment in Christ. Mrs. Elliot tells the story of how she, as a single college student, learned that “to live is Christ” and Him only (Philippians 1:21). Though lonely at times, she surrendered her will to God’s plan, even if it meant she would be humanly alone for the rest of her life. Second, purity in a relationship begins even before the relationship itself does. Because she kept her heart fixed on the Lord, the young Mrs. Elliot’s affections were not easily ensnared. When she did meet Jim Elliot, her future husband, both of them were cautious to keep their emotions in check. They each set safeguards for keeping Christ central, not one another. Standards for physical purity were very high as well, though Mrs. Elliot admits that they could have been even higher. Last, Mrs. Elliot deals with issues of propriety in romantic relationships. Consistent with the distinctly different roles God has given to men and women, men should be the initiators and leaders in relationships while women respond graciously. Mrs. Elliot answers many letters from women who want so much to be loved or get married that they are “chasing” men without even realizing it. She addresses common ways in which women often step outside their Biblical role in relationships, such as manipulation, impatience, and being domineering. She warns men to be real leaders, to clearly state their intentions, and not to engage a girl’s love without a commitment— proposal. By sharing her personal experience and the letters of countless others, Mrs. Elliot biblically addresses preparation, purity, and propriety concerning romantic relationships.
Mrs. Elliot is candidly honest in her somewhat biographical book. Secular socity has so thoroughly confused Christians on this topic that one often does not realize many areas in which his thinking is conformed to the culture rather than the scripture. By reading a love story of purity with Christ at its center, the reader is given a clear picture of what a relationship leading to marriage should look like. The theme of keeping one’s focus on Christ-- foundational to every chapter of Mrs. Elliot’s book-- is in accordance with Christ’s words in Matthew 6:33, “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.” One area in which Mrs. Elliot’s work is rather silent is the importance of parental guidance in relationships. Throughout the Bible, one can see the value of godly parents authorizing or even initiating their children’s love relationships. Little is said of this in Passion and Purity. Overall, however, the book is an excellent offering on total purity for Christ, whether one has met his future mate or is still contentedly waiting.
Currently, many of the concepts from the beginning of this book apply to me as an unmarried young woman still waiting for God’s provision of a husband, should He choose to someday provide one. Mrs. Elliot’s personal struggles with loneliness are familiar to me, but the scripture she leaned on is equally applicable to my life as well. For instance, I John 4:16 tells me that my God Himself is love, and Romans 5:5 assures that His love is “shed abroad” in my heart. I appreciate Mrs. Elliot’s emphasis on not merely physical purity, but on primarily purity of the heart. After reading many of Mrs. Elliot’s readers’ letters, I am grateful that by God’s grace my affections have been entirely preserved for the one to whom my Heavenly Father may see fit for me to be a helpmeet. In the future, if I am married and have a household of my own, it will be comforting to have no regrets about previous relationships or being distracted away from the Lord. My future husband and I will only be able to serve God best together someday if Christ alone is first in our lives both now and then.

A Look in the Mirror

2008-08-17T21:11:00.000-04:00

“If only they could see me now,” I thought.

”The ones who said I’d never make it. Those who said I’d never fit in, wasn’t prepared, couldn’t handle the real world. Those who thought I’d never amount to anything, never become anything, never excel. If only they could see me now.

They’d see.

They’d see a smart young woman who’s got it together. They’d see a classy, beautiful girl with a winning smile and witty remarks. They’d see me surrounded by laughter and friends, other lovely young ladies and charming gentlemen. They’d see high test scores and successful speeches, brilliant essays and persuasive debate. They’d see me enjoying recitals and concerts, poetry and lectures, and finer arts they can only dream of. They’d see me smiling at everyone and making others smile. They’d see success. They’d see happiness. They’d see they were wrong about me.”

Then I saw myself.

I saw a weary young woman struggling to keep it together. I saw an awkward, plain girl with a fake smile and every word an effort to impress. I saw myself surrounded by forced social laughter and strangers, ditzy girls and conceited guys. I saw the average grades and speech flops, clumsy essays and non-participation in debates. I saw myself enduring recitals and concerts, poetry and lectures, and “finer” arts I’d often rather avoid. I saw my feigned smile and the reflected feigned smiles of others. I saw defeats. I saw sorrows. I saw they were right about me.

”Oh, Heavenly Father!" I prayed, "Let them be blind to me. Let them see only You."

-- from my journal, November 12, 2006

Observations on Mary

2008-07-15T09:38:00.000-04:00

In my personal Bible study, I've been reading different passages involving Mary (as in Mary and Joseph). When reading scripture, I always look for things that should be true in my life; I never want to walk about from the Word unchanged. I found several qualities in the life of Mary, an ordinary young woman, that I pray the Lord will work into my life. Here are the high points:

From Luke 1:26-56

verse 34- She did not laugh, as Sarah did, when she learned of God's plan for her future. Think about it; it seems more of a miracle for a virgin to conceive than for an old married woman to. But unlike Sarah, Mary did not question or doubt God's plan; she simply asked how God was working and immediately accepted the answer.
verse 38- She willingly submitted to the will of God, though being an unwed mother should legally have cost her hope of future marriage and possibly her life.
verse 45- She had faith in God's Word.
verse 47- She gave the glory to God in joyful praise.
verse 48- She was humble.

From John 2:1-10

verse 2- Her first response to a problem was to tell Jesus,
verse 5- She displayed amazing faith in His power, though we have no record of any prior miracles.

Also in the news...

Someone said, "In five years you will be the same person as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." Does that mean that if you meet fewer people you should read more books?

I do not like Little House on the Prairie.

Literary Appetizers

2008-07-14T19:47:00.000-04:00

Just a sampling...

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. – Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Vanity working on a weak head, produces every sort of mischief. – Jane Austen, Emma

People always live for ever when there is an annuity to be paid them. -Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

. . . love is a great beautifier. - Lousia May Alcott, Little Women

It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

"Where you tend a rose, my lad,
A thistle cannot grow." - Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

To-day we love what to-morrow we hate; to-day we seek what to-morrow we shun; to-day we desire what to-morrow we fear.—Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

"Bah!" said Scrooge. "Humbug!" – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.—Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

" . . . accidents will occur in the best-regulated families . . ." –Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

". . . there are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts."—Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

"The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hound of Baskervilles

"Our father would never tell us what it was he feared, but he had a most marked aversion to men with wooden legs."—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of the Four

How easy it is to judge rightly after one sees what evil comes from judging wrongly . . . " Elizabeth Gaskell, Wives and Daughters

The cloud never comes in that quarter of the horizon from which we watch for it. – Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South

Call me Ishmael. - Herman Melville, Moby Dick

The mind is its own place, and in it self
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.—John Milton, Paradise Lost

"Marilla, isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"—L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Recently Read and Not Recommended

2008-07-12T19:00:00.000-04:00

I finally finished trudging through this flimsy "Christian" chick lit, Dreaming in Black and White. In misery, I forced myself to finish it and its sequel, Dreaming in Technicolor, because I have this thing about commitment; I wasn't going to start The Chronicles of Narnia until I finished these two books. Well, that and the fact that I dished out four whole dollars for them.
Phoebe Grant, the protagonist, is a weepy, pathetic woman who can only think about the fact that she's single. Whenever she opens her mouth, she's quoting a movie or bemoaning her singleness. When she's down (about being single), as she often is, she drowns her sorrows in ice cream. That's pretty much the synopsis.
But I'm keeping things positive, so here's a list of the good things about the set:

1. It inspired me to watch some good old classic movies.
2. And, yeah... I watched a few good old classic movies.
3. I'm thinking...
4. Oh, did I mention that it made me want to watch old movies?

See there, I came up with four things I liked about these books. One for every dollar.

Obsessive Compulsive?

2008-07-03T21:29:00.001-04:00

Is it OCD to insist on having these items with me at all times?

Now This is a Big Deal

2008-06-29T17:26:00.000-04:00

and a beautiful song.

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

--Frederick M. Lehman

Chill

2008-06-29T17:04:00.000-04:00

I laughed out loud when I saw this packaging. "Chill" is one of my favorite words. I could get frequent user miles for it or something.

Most things that we stress about in life don't deserve the importance we lend them. Most things, we just need to "chill out" about.

Don't get me wrong. There are definitely many topics which people should take much more seriously. Eternal souls, our Holy God, the sin that separates us from Him, His Word- these are areas in which the general population (including me) needs to be more concerned than it is.

But when it comes to the material, temporal things in life- flat tires, lost flip flops, rain on parties, and the proverbial "spilt milk" episodes- more people should just chill. It doesn't affect eternity and it's not the end of the world. In fact, those very inconveniences usually make for fun adventures or at least a great story.

That's why I tell myself and others in increasing frequency,

"It's not a big deal. Chill out."

Caramel Mocha Java Chiller

2008-06-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

This makes me happy.

Thank you, Sonic.

I Seriously Want to Read

2008-06-26T20:39:00.000-04:00

Now Reading

2008-06-19T11:52:00.000-04:00

Realness

2008-06-13T11:47:00.000-04:00

For a long time, I didn't understand what people meant when they said "keep it real" or talked about "being genuine."
That's because I was a fish who didn't know she was wet.
Now that I realize I'm swimming in insincerity, I'm tired of it in a thousand little ways.
I'm tired of making small talk when I'd rather converse about deeper things-- of saying, "How are you today?" when I really want to say, "Tell me your story." I'm tired of avoiding topics that challenge me or bring out uncomfortable emotions. I'm tired of saying trite things like "Oh well, everything will work out," because in this life, it doesn't. I'm tired of not saying cheesy things that I really mean, like "I love you" or "I'm glad you're my friend" or "I hope one day I can be a lot like you." I'm tired of being too embarrassed to answer the doorbell on those mornings when I've just rolled out of bed looking like a frightened chipmunk.
Now I figure, why not?
Not that I want to be inappropriate or rude or annoying. But if I'm avoiding something or hiding something simply because of embarrassment or fear of how it might affect me, then I'm not being real simply because I'm too prideful.
So in a way, I suppose that being real is like so many other traits I wish I could claim; it's rooted in humility.

The Best of Voddie Baucham

2008-06-03T13:22:00.001-04:00

"Current statistics show we are losing between 75% and 88% of professing Christian young people by the end of the first year of college."

Dr. Voddie Baucham captured and kept my full attention as he addressed this problem in his message, The Centrality of the Home. His thoroughly Biblical solutions were practical. His presentation was intelligent, but somehow still down-to-earth. That was the first time I'd heard of Dr. Baucham.
Since then, I've read, watched, and listened to Dr. Baucham many times. Every time, I have learned something new from God's Word and had a clear picture of how to apply what I learned.
So far, the most informative, absolutely enjoyable, and Bible-soaked selection I've heard from Dr. Baucham has been a series of messages given at a church in Florida. These sermons are based on scriptures outlining God's plan for the church and the family. In them, Dr. Baucham hits topics such as child discipline, roles of husband and wife, youth groups, house churches... if it's interesting and it's connected to home or church, it's covered. As I listened in the order I've listed, I decided that each message I heard was better than the one before it.
Sometimes the best things in life are free. This is one of those times. MP3's of the five-part series can be found here.

As a heads-up, this was a special event at a church; that's why you'll find about thirty minutes of music at the beginning of each MP3. Just fast forward to the preaching.

Or enjoy the beautiful song service; I did!

Thanks to Reforming My Mind MP3's, where I came across this excellent series.

What Will I Do About It?

2008-05-31T16:22:00.000-04:00

Blogging along, I’ve found that usually what I want to tell the world has already been said by someone else who can explain it more clearly, express it more concisely, and deliver it with more authority than I. In one post I pondered whether that is the reason many of my entries are quotes, book recommendations, or links to other resources.
Sometimes, however, I need to attempt to articulate something solid.
When Lisa of Longbourn commented on the post "What Will We Do About It?" I knew that a reply was in order.
I am likely to complain and "curse the darkness" when reading quotes like the one I posted. For that reason, I sent Mr. Phillips' words out into the world wide web accessorized with an open question, intending to spark thoughtful consideration rather than the pessimism I am so prone to don.

Someone thoughtfully considered!

Lisa says,

"But yes, what can we do? I want ideas. What do people want from me? What does God want? I didn't do anything to make my culture this messed up. Out of compassion and frustration I want to change the world, but I don't know how."

With no claim to have all the answers but to seeking the God who does, I offer my thoughts on what I should be doing about our messed-up culture. I'd like to organize those thoughts by breaking down the original quote by Douglas Phillips.

We can say that it’s under our watch, as this generation, that we’re seeing the single greatest devastating impact on family life in the history of Christendom...

First, the unbiblical condition of our culture is not only the fault of those who embrace it. It's "under our watch." Some of this culture's participants have neither seen the Biblical family model in scripture nor observed it exemplified. That's my problem. Matthew 5:13-16 calls me salt and a light that cannot go unseen. I should be speaking God's Word for that culture to hear (Psalm 119:172). I should be living God's Word for that culture to see (Matthew 5:16).My personal inclination is to become discouraged and angry with what I've termed "the culture." But I'm part of it when I'm complaining. The very way that I live does something about this culture; it either contributes to the devastation or counteracts it.

- ours is the generation that’s redefining marriage
- ours is the generation that has sent the largest number of women out of the home into the workplace, thus transforming the nature of the family
- ours is the generation in which men have set aside their duty as defenders and allowed women to go out to the field of battle protecting the home
- ours is the generation that has an unprecedented divorce rate
And the list goes on and on.

There's a place to battle these bullets (pun unintended) publicly, politically, separately. But my primary calling is to live out Biblical womanhood, effectively smiting the entire feminist philosophy behind the ammunition (Eph. 6:12).Biblical womanhood is simply God's plan for women as defined by Him in the Bible. Feminism is its diametric opposite. I want my life to be exemplary of Biblical womanhood; therefore, I want my life to be in stark opposition to feminism. Here are some examples of how I want my life to oppose feminism.

- Feminism promotes dominance; I want my life to be a statement of submission. (1 Cor. 16:1; Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; Heb. 13:17; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:13; 1 Pet. 5:5)
- Feminism preaches independence; I want my life to display dependence on God. (Psalm 5:11; 36:7; 37:5; 40:4; Prov. 3:5-6)
- Feminism aims for androgynous egalitarianism; I want my life to be distinctly feminine, a relfection of the fact that God has sovereignly ordained unique and noninterchangeable roles for men and women. (Deut. 22:5; Gen. 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 5:8; Titus 2:1-8; Eph. 5:21-33)
- Feminism is all about individualism; I want my life to be about serving others, particularly the family God has placed me in. (Prov. 31:11-12, 15, 20-21; Phil. 2:2-4; John 13:34; Rom. 12:24; Mark 12:30-31)
- Feminism tauts a proud, brash self-confidence; I want my life to exude a meek and quiet spirit. (Psalm 18:27; 25:9; 147:6; Prov. 11:2; 29:23; James 4:6,10; 1 Pet. 5:6; Matt. 5:5; 1 Pet. 3:4)
- Feminism does, says, and wears what is convenient, complimentary, and comfortable to one's self; I want to do, say, and wear that which honors God and others. (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Cor. 8:9, 10:23; Col. 4:6; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:8)
- Feminism sees children as an optional burden; I want my life to present them as a blessing. (Gen. 1:28; 9:1; 16:10; 17:2; 28:3; Psalm 127:3)

Because I am by default part of the culture, changing the culture has to start with me.But the exciting companion to that statement is this one:
Merely living a counter-culturally Biblical, feminine life is an assault on the culture's ungodly ideologies including feminism, humanism, and me-ism. That's a big "merely."

The problem with Christians today is they think that’s normal. It is not normal.It is crisis-level.

If a girl lives the "normal" Christian life as described in the Bible, she seems totally abnormal to the world. That's okay. "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Unfortunately, if a girl lives the "normal" Christian life as described in the Bible, she's likely the "abnormal" one even among her church family. That's not okay. But I'm part of that church family just as I'm part of the culture. My job is to live God's normal and encourage others to do the same.
By God's grace, many ladies are striving to live and encourage one another in God's description of womanhood in their churches, among their peers, and even through their blogs. In the context of Biblical femininity, they may be the only salt they know about, and they may feel like the only little light in the world. But their lives are still an offensive against that wicked culture we've been referring to.
My initial question wasn't "What can we do about it?" but rather "What will we do about it?" That's a challenge to myself. I know how I can live my life, by God's grace. It's a matter of whether or not I will.

Lisa, thank you for your remarks! They have prodded me to consider more seriously and search the scriptures more deeply for answers to my own question.

I welcome responses from others willing to share what they will do about family-devastating culture we're salt and light in.

In conclusion, I think that Lisa of Longbourn's best question was, "What does God want?"

I leave the answer to Micah 6:8.

"What does the LORD require of you but

to do justice,

to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?"

"Sand Castles" on YLCF

2008-05-30T13:42:00.000-04:00

Young Ladies Christian Fellowship recently published an article that spoke exactly what I needed at the moment. I have actually re-read "Sand Castles" several times.

"...It is so hard sometimes to be satisfied in where God has placed me. To be content. Have you ever been 26 years old and still so very single? Never had a kiss stolen, never held hands with a man in mutual affection. I've never been chosen by a man. I've been waiting a long time..." more

Today a follow-up was posted, sharing comments from readers. I found those heart-felt responses to be as touching as the original.
Yet even as I read words of comfort from other young ladies who wait for their opportunity to serve the Lord as godly wives and mothers, my raging mind brought up the same old doubts and fears. Someone mentioned a sister marrying at nearly forty; I thought, "What's the point of that? I want to spend my life raising lots of children for the Lord! Forty's a little late to be beginning." Others mentioned that marriage is difficult just as singleness is difficult; I thought, "Yeah, well, that's easy to say when you're not in the singleness part anymore. It's easy to say 'be content in waiting' after you've discovered that there was someone out there for you. Not so easy when the possibility exists that you may never have what you're waiting for." And on and on came the waves of faithless arguments from my own worst enemy-- my deceitful, desperately wicked heart.
Praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit bringing to remembrance another onslaught of waves that occurred long ago. My doubts quieted, and my thoughts returned serenely to God's sovereign faithfulness at three words:
"Peace, be still."

A Blessing to Me

2008-04-15T00:32:00.000-04:00

recently has been this free hermeneutics class offered by Twin City Fellowship.
I've taken many Bible classes, but never until now have I had training in how to carefully, correctly study the Bible on my own. In this ten-part study, Pastor Ryan Habbena's lessons (in mp3 format) instruct reverently and understandably in Biblical interpretation.
The all-encompassing principle that I've been smitten with through this course is how careful I must be in handling God's precious written Word. No other book is Divinely inspired; yet no other book has been subject to such sloppy interpretation and application by human readers-- including me. It's a predominant notion that when reading the Scripture, one can treat it like any other piece of literature; read it, discuss it, and come to a consensus on what everyone thinks it means. But what I or any other mortal thinks it means is irrelevant. What the Author meant is crucial. The Bible deserves meticulous, humble study led by the Holy Spirit to determine the Author's message and how it should be applied.
My love for God's Word has been renewed and my approach to studying it has been reformed by the online hermeneutics class. I encourage anyone to check it out at http://www.twincityfellowship.com/hermeneutics.php.

Feelin' Feminine Blogroll

2008-04-02T23:31:00.000-04:00

On Long Spans of Silence

2008-03-09T11:28:00.000-04:00

I once promised myself that I would never write one sentence in my journal unless I really had something to say. There is nothing more irksome than reading works formed by an author who wanted to write, but had no passion to drive his pen-- even if the author was oneself. Years ago I vowed that I wouldn't be that author.
I try to follow that principle in blogging as well, but I suppose I sometimes carry it too far.
I often write the least when I have the most to say.
Part of the reason, I'm sure, is a feeling of insuffiency to truly express what I want so desperately to get across. I've told my friends before that I live in frustration of never really feeling as though I've communicated exactly what I desire to, no matter how many ways I've explained the same thing, no matter how many angles from which I've aproached the same point. This applies to conversation as well as to writing.
Whether it is my side of an important discussion, an email to a friend, a paper for a class, an entry on my blog, or even a sermon note, I rarely conclude it believing that my precise sentiments have been expressed in the best way possible. I usually resort to quoting others whose words come closer to the mark than mine.
In this case, I will leave you with those of Anne Bradstreet:

Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth did'st by my side remain...
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
The visage was so irksome in my sight,
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, if so I could.
I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
I stretcht thy joints to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet.
In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
But nought save home-spun cloth, i' th' house I find.

--from The Author to Her Book

Recently Read and Recommended

2008-02-11T23:36:00.000-05:00

Raising Maidens of Virtue

by Stacy McDonald

Meant for mothers to read with their younger "teenage" daughters, this book challenged, convicted, and encouraged me in my pursuit of Christlikeness as a young woman. I recommend it in one word: Excellent.

Fool's Gold

by John MacArthur

The highest compliment I could give to any author would be to pronounce his writing as Biblically sound, to say that every paragraph is built on carefuly searched sola scriptura. I grant this commendation most freely to Dr. John MacArthur. This is yet another gem.The topic: Biblical Discernment.

If You Eavesdropped...

2008-01-13T18:23:00.000-05:00

...in my home today, you would have heard this conversation.

Little Sis: So,what are you going to to now that you're home from college?

Me: I'm not sure. There are a lot of things I want to learn at home.

Little Sis: Like what?

Me: Well, I'd like to learn how to look at a cupboard full of random ingredients and make a great meal like mom does, and I want to be able to grow my own vegetables and herbs in a garden. I want to work on my sewing skills so that I can at least alter any garment to fit just right. I want to invite some of the older ladies in our church over for dinner. I want to help mom in any way I can...

Little Sis: Wait, wait wait. Just stop right there. I see where this is going.

Me: You do?

Little Sis: Yep. You wanna be a "Proverbs 31 woman."

Me: Yeah. Exactly. :)

A Lost Art

2008-01-10T11:18:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this passage from Eight Cousins:

"Well, now, there is one very excellent, necessary, and womanly accomplishment that no girl should be without, for it is a help to rich and poor, and the comfort of families depends upon it. This fine talent is neglected nowadays, and considered old-fashioned, which is a sad mistake, and one that I don't mean to make in bringing up my girl. It should be a part of every girl's education..."
"Oh, what is it?" cried Rose eagerly, charmed to be met in this helpful and cordial way.
"Housekeeping!" answered Dr. Alec.
"Is that an accomplishment?" asked Rose, while her face fell, for she had indulged in all sorts of vague, delightful dreams.
"Yes; it is one of the most beautiful as well as useful of all the arts a woman can learn. Not so romantic, perhaps, as singing, painting, writing, or teaching, even; but one that makes many happy and comfortable, and home the sweetest place in the world. Yes, you may open your big eyes; but it is a fact that I had rather see you a good housekeeper than the greatest belle in the city. It need not interfere with any talent you may possess, but it is a necessary part of your training, and I hope that you will set about it at once."

-- Louisa May Alcott

What Will We Do About It?

2007-08-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

I was struck by this when I heard it on Generations Radio (at www.sermonaudio.com).
Consider these words from Douglas Phillips, president of Vision Forum.

"We can say that it’s under our watch, as this generation, that we’re seeing the single greatest devastating impact on family life in the history of Christendom, in the sense that

- ours is the generation that’s redefining marriage
- ours is the generation that has sent the largest number of women out of the home into the workplace, thus transforming the nature of the family
- ours is the generation in which men have set aside their duty as defenders and allowed women to go out to the field of battle protecting the home
- ours is the generation that has an unprecedented divorce rate

And the list goes on and on.

The problem with Christians today is they think that’s normal.
It is not normal.
It is crisis-level."

Prayers of Surrender

2007-08-03T23:38:00.000-04:00

I am no longer my own,
but Thine.
Put me to what Thou wilt;
Rank me with whom Thou wilt.
Put me to doing,
Put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by Thee or laid aside for Thee,
exalted for Thee or brought low by Thee.
Let me be full;
Let me be empty.
Let me have all things;
Let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to Thy pleasure and disposal.
-- John Wesley

I have been before God,
and have given myself,
all that I am and have,
to God;
so that I am not, in any respect, my own...
I have given myself clear away,
and have not retained anything
as my own.
-- Jonathan Edwards

Wonder About This

2007-07-21T13:51:00.001-04:00

I heard these lyrics by Steven Curtis Chapman a few days ago, and they have been rolling around in my head since then.
I wish I could live each moment in the realization of who God is and the preeminence of Christ.
That trite saying isn't so trite after all. It is truly not about me.

The sky begins to thunder,
And I’m filled with awe and wonder
‘Til the only burning question that remains Is, "Who am I?"
Can I form a single mountain,
Take the stars in hand and count them,
Can I even take a breath without God giving it to me?
He is first and last, before all that has been,
Beyond all that will pass.

God is God and I am not.
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting.
God is God and I am man,
So I’ll never understand it all,
For only God is God.

Oh, how great are the riches of His wisdom and knowledge!
How unsearchable, for to Him and through Him and from Him are all things!

Heroes

2007-07-15T18:39:00.000-04:00

I have more heroes now than I've ever had before.
I'm not referring to all the missionaries I admire from reading their biographies or all the heroic leaders I've seen black-and-white photos of in history books.I'm talking about people who I know personally and who have influenced me eternally, more than I probably even realize now.
When I think of these people and how much I want to be like them, I can't describe their character with words. A friend and I used to have endless discussions over what it was that made these people so outstanding, so elevated in our eyes. In one of those "duh!" moments, we both realized, of course, that what we admired so much wasn't our heroes themselves at all. It was Christ in them.
So I end up praying something like, "Dear God, please conform me to the image of your Son by instilling in me this character quality I see in Mrs. So-and-so."
Because I really can't describe it other than by citing the person who lives that quality out before me.

The Quiet Man

2007-07-13T11:01:00.000-04:00

He was the teacher everyone wanted to avoid. This past year of college, more than a few conversations about Mr. Shepherd began like this:
“Who’s your Bible teacher?... Oh-- that quiet man?… Boy, do I feel sorry for you!”
As soon as his name was mentioned, someone was sure to quip, “the quiet teacher” or “the one nobody can ever hear.” I heard his voice described as “squeaky like an ambulance siren… up and down all the time” and “you can only hear every fourth syllable.” And everyone unanimously agreed that the word which best fit Mr. Shepherd was “Booooooring.”
I had him my first semester for Old Testament Survey 101. I must admit, his was the only class I have ever fallen asleep in. I could not follow his lectures at all, and indeed, I could barely hear a word he said. He told us once that in high school he’d been voted “Most Bashful.” I believe it. His shyness was the first impression I got of Mr. Shepherd. In conversation, all of his words were quietly thought out beforehand, sometimes with uncomfortable pauses.
Mr. Shepherd is about my father's age, with some sort of technological career in the Air Force behind him. Most students thought he belonged back in front of that Air Force computer screen; and all of Mr. Shepherd's students agreed that the desk job would've been more inside Mr. Shepherd's comfort zone. But, as he announced to us on the first day of class, the Lord had called Mr. Shepherd out of his comfort zone and into the ministry. Ministry to us.
I endured through that first semester with Mr. Shepherd, complaining along with everyone else about his teaching style and feeling as if my success as a college scholar was somehow injured by having had him as Bible teacher.Then spring semester rolled around. Before registration I planned my class schedule carefully and meticulously; it is very difficult for a "work student" with many work hours to fit all the required courses in around a job schedule. But at last I had figured it out, and, eager to see which teachers I’d ended up with, I thumbed through the registration booklet. I’d never heard of any of the teachers I would be having for my Math, English, or P.E. classes. I didn’t recognize the names of my History and Speech teachers. But when I got to New Testament Survey, my enthusiasm for the new semester faded as I noticed the name printed beside the section number I was planning to register for.
Mr. Shepherd.
Surely this had to be wrong! I was not taking Mr. Shepherd again! I double-checked. It was inevitable. The only section of New Testament Survey which fit around my work schedule was taught by the one and only Mr. Shepherd.
I complained for days. Could it possibly be fair that I had to suffer through Mr. Shepherd’s lectures for two semesters in a row?! I rallied the sympathy of everyone I met that first week or two, and made it known that I was not happy about taking the quiet man’s class.
This time my assigned seat was front and center, square in front of Mr. Shepherd. I could actually hear what he was saying. I could actually see some expression in his face, even if I couldn’t hear it in his voice. Not long into the semester, I began to think Mr. Shepherd had changed. I was learning a great deal in his class and even enjoying it. Did he improve over Christmas break?One day’s question about the lecture began a habit of talking with Mr. Shepherd briefly after class.
And one day I understood what the difference was.
Instead of seeing him as an awkward pedagogue, I had begun to see him as a man of God, so passionate about his Lord and his Textbook that he would fight daily to overcome an inherent diffidence in order to present them to us. From his conversation with me and a few classmates who were willing to give him a chance, I recognized that he had the same passion for his students. Mr. Shepherd hadn't changed. I had.
On the last day of class, afterwards I asked Mr. Shepherd to sign my yearbook beside his picture. He quietly proceeded to oblige me, but stopped abruptly, noticing where I had written beside their pictures the classes for which I had taken each professor.
“You had me last semester also?” he asked, seeing “Old Testament” as well as “New Testament” beside his name.
I knew he wouldn’t have remembered me from the larger Old Testament class, one which I hurried into and out of each day without interaction. As I answered affirmatively to his question, Mr. Shepherd's face slowly registered surprise. Then, he said, “You came back.” And he gave me the most rewarding smile I’d seen all year. “Now I know exactly what I want to write in your yearbook.”
In that moment, I felt guilty that I hadn't chosen to have Mr. Shepherd twice. Immediately I was stricken with shame for my former attitude about Mr. Shepherd. I had spoken with contempt for him along with everyone else while barely yet out of his classroom door. I realized he was very aware that students tried to avoid taking his classes and most who ended up with him had no other choice. As a future teacher myself, I suddenly imagined how Mr. Shepherd must’ve felt, to wake up every morning so excited about teaching his passion, so full of love for his students, but knowing that he was decried among those very students simply for not being as naturally eloquent as others. Tears pressed against my eyes as I watched this humble man who was willing to follow the hand of God even into territory which wasn’t easy for him to trek.
I thanked him when he was done signing and I rushed back to my dorm room to read what he’d written. When I found the page, my eyes fell on what has now become the most treasured signature in my yearbook:

“May the Lord continue to bless and enlighten.
Thanks for being an encouragement to me!
-- Mr. Shepherd.”

I wrote this in my journal last year. I've changed my teacher's name, but I really wanted to share this.
I have been privileged to sit under this teacher's instruction again since writing the above, and am continually inspired by his quiet reverence for God and His Word.
Thank you, Mr. Shepherd!

Persuasion Procrastination

2007-07-10T23:59:00.000-04:00

Persuasion has been put on hold (or at least on the back burner) as I am reading So Much More, by the Botkin sisters from Vision Forum.It has been challenging, inspiring, thought-provoking reading so far.I recommend it to be read with a heart open to the Holy Spirit's conviction and discernment.I recently listened to Strength and Dignity for Daughters, the audio presentation by the same sisters. In it Anna Sofia and Elizabeth challenge young ladies to be distinctly feminine, live Biblically as a daughter of the King, and honor their earthly father and Heavenly Father. I highly recommend it.

We Need Revival When...

2007-07-08T16:25:00.000-04:00

A friend gave me a longer, printed version of this list, the full version of which can be found here.It really made me think. If we are honest, I think we could all say we need revival.

When Do We Need Revival?
By Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Consider these evidences of the need for revival:

+ when we do not love Him as we once did.
+ when we would rather watch TV and read secular books and magazines than read the Bible and pray.
+ when church dinners are better attended than prayer meetings.
+ when concerts draw bigger crowds than prayer meetings.
+ when we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.
+ when we do not tremble at the Word of God.
+ when God's people are more concerned about their jobs and their careers, than about the Kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the lost.
+ when God's people get together with other believers and the conversation is primarily about the news, weather, and sports, rather than the Lord.
+ when church services are predictable and "business as usual."
+ when our children are growing up to adopt worldly values, secular philosophies, and ungodly lifestyles.
+ when we are more concerned about our children's education and their athletic activities than about the condition of their souls.
+ when we tolerate "little" sins of gossip, a critical spirit, and lack of love.
+ when we will watch things on television and movies that are not holy.
+ when our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.
+ when we are content to live with explainable, ordinary Christianity and church services.
+ when we are bored with worship.
+ when people have to be entertained to be drawn to church.
+ when our music and dress become patterned after the world.
+ when we start fitting into and adapting to the world, rather than calling the world to adapt to God's standards of holiness.
+ when people have to be begged to give and to serve in the church.
+ when we are more concerned about what others think about us than what God thinks about us.
+ when we are blind to the extent of our need and don't think we need revival.

Finished the Abbey

2007-07-05T00:34:00.000-04:00

I've finished Northanger Abbey!It was delightful, though something about it seemed a bit different from the typical Austen novel.I had been impatient to read Northanger Abbey since I last year, when I saw an excellent speech recital cut from the book.I'm finding that, although sometimes caricatured, Austens characters are very realistic in that they all seem to have faults. Usually in books I enjoy, the protagonist's faults are none or very few; those few are either endearing or are eliminated by the end of the story. However, I can't think of any heroes or heroines of Austen's that seem so impeccable, or even likeable as people. (Except maybe Knightley in Emma.)The most likeable Austen heroine I've met is Fanny from Mansfield Park.I started reading Persuasion today. One down, nine to go!

Concerning Daycare

2007-07-03T10:29:00.000-04:00

I was both saddened and relieved recently to find this site. It is a collection of quotes from childcare providers about what they have observed in daycares.I was saddened because, having worked in five different childcare jobs, I have personally seen occurances of almost all of the situations reported on the website; it was saddening to find that the problems I myself saw seem to be quite common and widespread.I was relieved to find that the information in those pages is available for parents to read and know. It breaks my heart to think that there may be some people- single mothers, for instance- in truly difficult situations, who can find no alternative to putting their children in a daycare center. I wonder how quickly daycare would cease to even be an option if they observed the things I did when I worked in daycare.I do not think it necessary for me to write now about my daycare experience. I suppose it is just important to me to get that link out there; because, as I said, I have observed all but one or two of the horrible instances that others have already reported here.I haven't even touched on the issue of daycare being unbiblical. Some other time.I am thankful that I am no longer working in that area. My conscience was too heavy about it, and the Lord provided me with another job.

Delight Upon Arrival

2007-07-02T19:33:00.000-04:00

of a whole box full of new books!
Ten in all, of classics I should have read before now. I ordered them upon the discovery that our local public library had only one selection by Twain, a solitary book by Dickens, and nothing to be found of Jane Austen at all! (How can they call it a library?!)
After opening my treasured package, I pulled the books out one by one, smelled them (a very important part of acquainting oneself with a new book!) and was immediately faced with a dilemma- which to read first?
Being in a felicitous sort of mood, and partly out of indignation at our library's shocking lack of Austen, I chose Northanger Abbey and began reading right away.
Check out The Republic of Pemberly.
My goal is to read all ten books by August 31. Will it happen?

How Great Thou Art

2007-07-01T22:36:00.001-04:00

I absolutely love storms. I can think of no place in general revelation where God's power is more evident. If He is the Creator of that brilliant lightning, that deafening thunder, how much greater He Himself must be!
This afternoon, after sitting on the porch, as usual, to observe an amazing thunderstorm, I was awed anew at my God. As I watched the lightning strike, heard the bellowing thunder, and felt the incredibly forceful wind, the only words that bordered on conveying my thoughts are the following. God's greatness is indeed evident in the first verse, but His display of greatness in the second verse overshadows that of even my thunderstorm.

O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul! my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Words by Stuart K Hine